Infested!
by Chris000
Summary: Continuing the Series written by Chris 000. The men and wome aboard the UNSC Indomitable now face a challange: They must take back thier home planet. But there are more gruesome things than Terrans in Earth's streets.
1. Prolouge

INFESTED

FanFiction by Chris000

Prologue: Second Sunrise 

New Mombassa, Financial District, Kenya 0719 h, 3235

Sol rose over the smoldering rooftops of New Mombassa, sounds of gunfire and screams of the young and old could be heard all around the island. Foreign starships in clearings unloaded hostile humanoids into the city. The Terrans have devastated thousands of major cities like New Mombassa. They would not stop until Earth was brought to its knees.

In the very center of the city at the base of the Millennium Orbital Elevator, a wrecked plane lay half buried in the road, the charred undercarriage merging with a parked car. Inside, laid a sleeping fox with the face of an animal with a body of a teenage human. Two tails surreally drifted in the air. The fox clutched a pistol in a white-knuckle grip. Unaware of the danger approaching, but at the same time subconsciously knowing danger was on the way. The fox didn't even flinch as a D77TC Pelican dropship drifted towards the ground. The pilot gave constant gusts of fuel to the engines, slowing their descent. Landing gear deployed from the nose and troop bay of the ship and slowly touched down. Two armed marines strode out. One bearing the marking of a Lance Corporal put his rifle to his shoulder, sighted it, scanned the horizon and signaled the other forward. The other marine was a Staff Sergeant. "Ok, Lovitski, let's get the kid ready for dustoff." Lovitski replied by nodding his head and saying "Yessir." Both men strode to the fighter-plane ruins. "This the one?" The Staff Sergeant asked his subordinate. Lovitski smothered a laugh. "Hell, he's the _only _one. They survived a supersonic impact onto solid concrete and the enemy hasn't even found them yet. I'm surprised he lasted the night. The other's gone though. Command didn't say where though. Top Secret they said." The Sergeant examined the fox. "Is he dead? I can't tell." Lovitski put two fingers on the fox's Jugular vein. "No, got a pulse." "Knocked out?" The Sergeant asked a little more loudly, just to make sure. Lovitski shone a light into the fox's eye and opened a lid. An electric blue eye twitched back and forth. "No, he's in REM. You know what they say about dogs, they can sleep through anything." The Sergeant laughed, he then put his hand on the fox's shoulder and shook it. The young Mobian suddenly woke up and yawned. "Corporal Miles Prower?" the Sergeant asked. "Yeah, that's me. People call me Tails." He said scratching his head with the pistol butt. "The Pelican's here to pick you up." Tails looked disoriented. "Hmm? Oh, right! The Pelican." Tails remembered when Sonic was near him last. _Wait here for the Pelican_, he said. "I'm Staff Sergeant Brown. Sorry we took so long to get here. The Terran ships are still giving us trouble." Tails shook his head. "No problem. Not like I was doing much anyway." Lovitski motioned to the Pelican. "Prower, you'd better get on-board. We have a medical team in orbit waiting for you to arrive. It seems you've taken a beating when you landed." Tails turned to see the shattered, bloody canopy of Ryan's totaled Hev Hawk All Purpose Fighter. "My pilot took the brunt of it." The marines nodded. "I see." said Brown. "Anyway, you need to get onboard. Strap in and you'll be debriefed." Tails nodded, gingerly touching his head where blood caked in some places. He stood up and, with some effort, walked toward the open troop bay. Brown turned and opened a line to the Pilots. "We'll take one look around. If we come back, wait for us, if you see anything bad, take off. Brown and Lovitski took a hundred paces away from the Pelican when an unearthly sound caught Lovitski's ear. "Sarge, I just head something." Brown shut his safety off. "I heard it too, be careful." Half a minute later, in a blown out hotel room, a creature lunged out from the bathroom. It looked like a King Cobra blown up to ten times its size, but with scythes for hands. Lovitski fired off a burst from his rifle. The creature caught a shot and recoiled, suddenly angered, the creature slid forward and sunk its scythe claw into Lovitski's chest. The Lance Corporal was stunned and his eyes were frozen at the scene. The creature retracted the claw and the Corporal sunk face forward in a pool of his blood. Brown shifted his attention to the creature and fired off a three-round burst as well, the well-placed shots severed the arm that impaled the late Lovitski. The creature howled in pain as blood leaked from its arm and sunk back into the shadows. Brown started to make a break for it. The Pelican was in sight when extreme pain shot though him. He lost height and speed. He looked down to his horror to see his left leg missing below the knee. The Staff Sergeant cried out in pain as he saw the limb lying next to him. A second creature showed up and sliced right through combat armor, flesh, ligaments, cartilage, and bone. "Take off!" he yelled, almost cried into the microphone. The Pelican pilots scurried to get the craft airborne again. The creature sliced again taking Brown across the chest and killed him. The creature turned its skull-like face to the dropship and screeched a hellish cry. The Pelican shot upward and was soon out of sight. The creature looked toward the recently killed human. It bellowed another cry and soon, hundreds of tiny creatures, each quadruped. Tiny spikes on their backs stabbed at the flesh and tore it apart. These humans would be the first of millions.


	2. Chapter 1: Shoving Off

Chapter 1: Shoving Off

UNSC Superarrier _Indomitable_

In Station in Orbital Post Beta 12 over Mobius

Three Hours Earlier

Opening…

Soldier's Log

Identification: 0979-07820-CV

Name: Captain C. Vennettilli

/Begin Entry/

Ah, the sweet smell of Titanium-A battle plate after almost a week of recovery. My skin seems to have fully healed itself after that little bullet wound. I have to say it was no picnic getting the bullet removed. But now that's over and done with I can relax, at least until Major Everly makes me refuel and shine all of the C710 Longswords until he sees his face in them. Some days, it pays to be dead. Anyway, I'm back in space and we're gonna see some action. Before I came back, the guys were just kicking the Terrans off of Mobius, now, with our new comrade Logan, we can concentrate on liberating Earth which is a Terran cesspool by now. One of the things I'm going to miss about Mobius is Sally. Shame. I have to say that something might be coming from this relationship. I had to look at her and say goodbye. I promised I'd be back, let's hope I live up to my promise. I emphasize on the 'live' part.

/End Entry/

Captain Chris Vennettilli stood inside his bunk staring out the window. The planet Mobius hung in space as a sapphire blue orb. Even from near the moon, the marine could see the many fires flickering over its surface. After the Terran invasion, the captain thought that the planet could never truly recover again. But the planet was free. And monarchy was once again the government the people desired. Chris decided to sit down on his bunk and turn on the television set. The human flipped the power switch. An electric field activated and a holo-screen stretched from one post to the other. A television screen appeared and GNN was on. The news reporter was talking. "Well, Jack, we're in Paris right now and there seems to be a lot of action going on." The reporter had a ballistic helmet on to protect him from shrapnel. "What's the situation in terms of casualties?" Jack asked the on-site reporter. "Well, General Kits of the Marine Corps has assured us that the ratio of Terran soldiers taken down for every UNSC trooper is almost 10:1. Which are very good odds." Behind them, an explosion lit up and made a Warthog spin away from the camera at tremendous speed. "Well, at present time, the commanding officers haven't released any strategies on how to take back the city but in due time, they'll think of something. GNN's Charlie Daniels, back to you, Jack." Chris shut off the TV. The plasma band dissipated and he thought: _I need to get back there. They need me Earth needs me._ Just then a group of marines walked through the door. "…So anyway, I tell the guy, yes you can pick up chicks in a tank and… Hey, the Cap's back!" Carl Santorini said. "Nice to see you boys again." Chris said smiling at his troopers. "Nice to see you made a good recovery." Lance McGregor, Support Unit said. Chaz Sullivan merely smiled and said to the black marine next to him, "We knew he was gonna pull through, right Sarge?" The sergeant, who smiled said, "Boy's got more spunk than my entire whole unit put together!" Chris smiled and said, "I just want to thank everyone for giving me such a warm welcome." As if delivering a speech. "And it would give me no greater pleasure, than to go down there with you guys and personally kick them off our rock!" the marines roared enthusiastically at this; just what he wanted.

Up at the bridge of the ship, Admiral Gerome Andsworth sat himself down in the command chair of his beloved ship. He snuggled in as the added convenience "seat warmers" turned on. Lieutenant Velo asked "Orders sir?" Andsworth nodded. "Steady as she goes, Jack." He turned to his female bridge officer Lieutenant Sue Braden, a fox-human hybrid. Lieutenant Feedin had been promoted to Commander after the Battle over Earth and had been granted her own brand-new vessel the UNSC _Dominic_, a destroyer. Andsworth witnessed the bottle breaking ceremony himself. "How's our gun status, Sue?" he asked. "Magnetic coils at 110 sir and we have a total inventory of Archer missiles. Guns say that the shot locker is filled to the top." Andsworth admired old Earth navel sea names for parts of a ship. A shot locker referred to a room where cannonballs were kept. In space, a shot locker referred to the pods where the missiles were kept. The admiral checked with his communications officer, Lieutenant Jaffa. "Any outbound orders?" Jaffa checked his receiver. "Just one, sir. Quoting the RSS _Dignity_: 'Be careful out there, the Terrans really skewered our ships out there, who's to say they can't do it again.'" Andsworth nodded. Captain DuLand of the _Dignity_ had all the right to make sure that the _Indomitable_'s crew wasn't sent back in body bags. She was after all, the first Mobian to make contact with the humans after hundred of years of severed contact.

The mighty _Indomitable _coasted silently in the near vacuum of space almost eerily. Her olive drab hull illuminated only by spotlights positioned around her hull and by the sunlight of the Mobian system's star. The Jumpgate that connected the human universe from the Mobian's was only about a kilometer away. Andswoth eyeballed the device.

He always had a fear of Slipspace flight, ever since his high school trip to the ruins of Maleficent V, the sight where the humans fought against renegade robots. The planet cracked in two when a whole stockpile of NOVA bombs went off on the plant's surface. The humans escaped, barely. "Sir, we are half a click from the Jumpgate, sir." Velo told his superior. "We are go on the universal transfer." Andsworth nodded. "Ease her in, Jack." The naval officer told the Lieutenant. The _Indomitable_'s prow grazed the film of matter that hung like a web of unexplained stuff. The gate was powered by energy siphoned off of the legendary Chaos Emeralds of Mobius. Such matter was hard to maintain, but, with the human's brains and the Mobian's funding, a second gate was created to connect the two separated Verses. The supercarrier's bridge submerged itself in the matter, followed by its stern. As soon as the entire ship was through, the human vessel shot forward at incredible speed, coasting at hundreds of light years a second, across space and time… The blinding white tunnel of what Astrophysicists called Anti-Slipspace seemed to stretch on forever. Andsworth sat more comfortably. "How much time until we hit the other side?" Velo checked the math, about 45 minutes sir, give or take 30 seconds or two. "Might as well get comfy." Andsworth told his bridge crew. The junior Lieutenants behind him stretched and even took a nap. Not that the ship needed anyone to pilot it for a while. "How about some music. Velo, lets try 21st century, any band you like." Andsworth was in a good mood. As the upbeat music of Crush 40 sounded through the bridge speakers, Andsworth got all the more comfier. Only three quarter hours of heaven left to go.

Almost a klick aft, Captain Vennettilli sat down in the mess hall and started thinking on what to order. "I don't know, guys. I think that the chef's special might be a trap. Those guys on KP couldn't cook anything if their lives depended on it." Carl took his plate full of chicken. "Speak for yourself. I once was curious and got something that resembled halfway through a bass and meatloaf. I was sick for weeks." Lance snickered. "I thought I heard retching coming from the bathroom." Carl tossed a chicken wing at Lance hard. It hit him square on the nose. "What the hell was that for?" he complained rubbing it. "Great now my nose is greasy!" Carl heaved another one in his hand as if it were a javelin. "That's not all I'm gonna grease if you don't shut up!" Chris chose this moment to step in. "Hey, HEY!" he said angrily, his seniority as an officer kicking in. "If you guys are so willing to fight, I would toss you both into a ring and would arm you to the teeth, then whoever's left, I'm beating myself!" both of the underlings looked terrified. Chris suddenly slinked back. "I'm sorry, guys. I just need some coffee. I haven't been myself lately." Suddenly, a Styrofoam cup landed in front of him, light brown coffee dripped down the side. "Thanks, whoever did that." Chaz smiled. "Welcome, Cap." Chris shook his head. "Are you trying to kiss my ass? That won't get you a promotion."

Chaz smiled again. "No _problemo_ _el __capitan_. I never was one for promotions." He sat down and took a sip of his own coffee. "Where's Sarge and the new guy?" Chris shrugged. "Anywhere I guess. He said that he was going to show him the ropes, but I know a guy's night out when I see one." Carl decided to change the subject. "Do we have a plan when we get back to Earth, which I imagine will be a Terran hive world." Chris actually paused at that point. "Actually now that I think of it, no. However, in military history, there comes plenty of times when plans are thought up on extremely short notice. We must be back in our own universe now. The TV's working." And sure enough, the GNN news network flashed online. "And recent events have unfurled in the European country of Soleana, war has sparked between the civilians and invaders. "Soleana. That name sounds familiar. You ever hear of a place called Soleana?" he asked his squad. "Yeah." Lance said. "My parents brought me there for summer vacation when I was 13. Small island in the Mediterranian. Beutiful city, beutiful people." "Except now the news says they're at war." Carl noted. "I wonder who they're fighting?" Chris entered. "I hope it's the Terrans. We could use a hand now and then. Anyone can join in." Chaz scoffed. "Except the Canadians." Chris said. "Hey, nothing wrong with the Canadians. Sure they worship hockey and what's up with "Eh?" but, they make good beer and thier army isn't so bad." Carl said "Sir, look. Thier military consists of two rowboats and a drum battalion, maybe a few paper airplanes..." Chaz interrupted. "Shh, smething's going on." Chris looked and saw Sgt. Remus Stacker's platoon watching the nearest screen. "What the hell are those?" Stacker asked his Corporal, Rogers. "Looks like robots, sir." Stacker looked at Rogers. "I knew that, dumbass, but who's?" Chris looked at the screen, Soleana military forces seemed to be holding off what Chris suspected to be robotic supersoldiers. Strange that these robots were unfamiliar. "Oh my God, I don't believe it." Chris said in a half amazed, half annoyed voice. A streamlined oragne and yellow cruiser hovered above the city. Just then, an obese man climbed on top of a balcony. "Charlie we've now believed that this man is the cause of the insurrection. Galaxy-wide know criminal Dr Ivo Robotnik aka Dr. Eggman." Chris heard the countless groans of marines as they heard the doctot's name. Captain Kanow from the 107th Helljumper Division even tossed a tomato at the screen. "Didn't we already get enough of him?" Carl took a sip of his drink. "Apparently, fat boy doesn't know where to quit." Chris pointed to the screen. "Check out what's happening now." Just as the doctor made a request for Princess Elise of Soleana's necklace which he claimed had a Sol Emeralds in it ("Definatly an Emerald" Chris said.) one of his robots had his face punched in and fell backwards. "Whoa!" Carl said. Suddenly, a robot split in half and another exploded altogether. Suddenly, a streak went across the camera. Neon blue. "All right!" Lance said. One robot was knocked off its feet and the blue streak stopped over it. There stood the world famous Sonic the Hedgehog. One robot was befind him, he punched its eye and then, with a little push of his foot, knocked the robot off of the balcony, splashing into the water. The marines cheered as thier furry friend achieved vctory. Chris noticd something. "Wait, if Sonic is in Soleana, where's Tails?" Lance shrugged. "Dunno. Last time we heard from them they were in New Mombassa, East African Protectarate. Sending out a mayday signal." Chris considered it, "He still might be there. We have to hurry. As soon as this tub exits Slipspace." Chaz drained his coffee. "Sure thing, Cap"


	3. Chapter 2: Home Base Brawl

Chapter 2: Home Base Brawl 

UNSC Supercarrier _Indomitable_

October 2nd 3235 0942 hrs

Over Earth Orbit, Luna

The UNSC _Indomitable_ appeared out of thin space, the white Slipspace rupture opening to admit them to the human universe. They appeared close to the Mere Tranquilitie Moon Settlement. Earthling refugees were sent here if the UNSC rescued them unfortunatly only a million were at the base, the rest were still on Earth, Trapped like rats. Admiral Gerome Andsworth checked the radar scans for enemy ships. "We clear, Velo?" Andsworth asked his navigational officer. "Aye, sir. No enemy ships in the radar's spectrum." "What about comm signatures, Jaffa?" The African Comm officer ran a quick scan on the areas near thier position. "Got one, a BattleCruiser by the looks of it, they're outside the radar scan distance. Shouldn't be a problem." The admiral wasn't taking any chances. "What's that ship's acceleration speed?" Velo checked scans. "Estimated 100 metres a minute. They're pratically standing still. Andsworth nodded his head thankfully. "Excellent. That's the way I want it to stay. Where's our target?" Velo answered. "We chose the correct moment to appear, sir." He pointed forward out of the main viewport. Earth stood ahead. Humanity's homeworld that was covered with flickering lights of civilization, seas teaming with life, and fires spread across the surface that signalled destruction and death. "At our current speed, sir, we should reach a gyosynchronized orbit over New Mombassa within two hours." Velo calculated. The admiral nodded again. "Excellent, take us there."

At the Terran Battlecruiser hundreds of miles away, the now-promoted Fleet Commander Irov Geralski stood on the BattleCruiser's deck with as much authority as his predecessor, Fleet Commander Alexi Andrekov. His Junior Lieutenant Ursula Iraski went to him. "Sir, you requested me to inform you if anything passed within our scanning radiuses after you asked me to push the limits on how far we could scan?" Geralski looked at her. "Yes, what of it?" Iraski checked her data-board. "Well, sir, my people took our existing range, and ampliphied it usng some of the intact communcation dishes of the Earthling defense platforms we destroyed. Using the ampliphied radio waves, we located a ship." Geralski smiled within himself, but showed no external featres. "And?" Iraski cut to the chase, puching in a serise of keys onto a keyboard. A screen usually used for Comms flickered and displayed the entire space between Low Earth Orbit and the planetoid that the Earthlings refered to as the Moon. Geralski chuckled to himself when he read the planetoid's name. _Moon!_ The Earthlings weren't much for names now were they? "I want a detailed analysis on that ship, Junior Lieutenant!" Iraski nodded, "Within the minute, Fleet Commander." She said. She gestured towards another Lieuteanat, who uploaded the data. "Data uploading." He reported. "Stand by..." A red dot appeared on-screen next to the moon roughly one hundred miles outside the gravitational field. "The ship is of human make, and by eye-witness accounts of the prisoners taken, is one of the most powerful in the Earthling fleet. They call it a supercarrier. It carries a full three squadrons of what the Earthers call F-29 Hellcats, ten C710 Longsword Interceptors, five C710 Longsword Bombers, and twenty D77TC Pelican Dropships." Iraski said. Geralski looked at the holographic image of the supercarrier. "I heard rumors of this ship, piloted by one of the greatest human commanders. How she managed to take several Yamato blasts and come out standing, and I realize how close we are to loss when we see this." He said, dismissivley. "Sir, if I may," Iraski said. "The Earthlings believe that we are outside the necessary radar range needed to pick up our signal or else they would diverte course and engage us." Geralski nodded. _True_. "I suggest, with your permission sir, that we run silent and allow the Earthlings to continue on with thier course, wait for them to empty thier cargo, then, we attack them. A ship with no one to deffend it would be like shooting fish in a barrel." Geralski smiled. "That is a good plan. And I agree with you one hundred percent. We'll make sure that they will never see us." He gestured to his helmsmen. "Prepare to shut down weapons, we need the extra energy to cloak entirely, minimize engine activity by seventy percent. We don't want any emmisions given off that could give us away. There are still plenty of Earth ships out here that are policing the area." The helmsmen obeyed, and soon, all could feel the BattleCruiser shivering to a halt. The ship seemed to melt away from the outside. They were unseen, unknown, and unheard.


	4. Chapter 3: Helljumping

Chapter 3: Helljumping 

UNSC Supercarrier _Indomitable_

October 2nd 3235 1045 h

Low Earth Orbit

Soldier's Log

Entry 45.3

Sergeant Major Avery Johnson Log

/Begin Entry/

Earth, seems like yesterday I stepped on her sweet green surface, of course, that's when the covies sunk thier claws into it. Now, it seems that there's a whole new group of bad guys on the loose. The Terrans have dragged us across universes, I'm not going to let them go any further. That's right, baby. GO-time. On a different note, we're currently in geosynchronized orbit over the East African Protectorate city of New Mombassa. I remember this, given the fact that my brain could've lost some valuable memory after spending over half a mllenium in a tube on an icy hasn't told us how we're going down, but Pelicans seem to be out of the question.

/End Entry/

Chris walked out of the locker room, his hair cut in a nice buzz style. It wold help if his hair wouldn't slow him down on the ground. Meeting at the intersection that led to the elevator shaft, he met his teammates. Carl, Chaz, and Lance ran up the east corridor carrying thier preffered weaponry. "Sir, we're ready for our mission. When do we go for briefing?" "As soon as everyone arrives." Chris said checking his watch. "Personally the sooner the better. It ain't getting any cooler down there." Suddenly, three more men bounded up the west corridor. Chris recognized the cigar smoke. Sergeant Avery Johnson led mis men up to Chris. Logan, the former UED Marine-who looked strangely uncomfortable in UNSC armor- and Ryan Percy, the unit's gun-toting madman.

"Caught him in the heavy weapons firing range down on Deck 8." He said pushing Percy forward, the Corporal smiled sheepishly. Chris looked at Ryan and said, "Too bad you didn't pick up one of those guns, and they would've been great for our mission." Ryan slumped, knowing that he threw away an opportunity. "I'm so stupid." He said. "I know you are, boy. We all aren't perfect." Johnson said patting Percy's shoulder. The humans jammed into the elevator, barely all of them fit. Someone punched Deck 7- Briefing, Living Quarters 1025-2056, and Transit System 12. The Elevator hummed silently. Logan started to cough. "Sarge, can you put that thing out, I can barely breathe!" Johnson took a long drag on his cigar. "What do _you_ think, Marine?" Suddenly, a red light lit up, a klaxon sounded. The men pulled out their sidearm, then everyone except Johnson stowed them with smirks after they realized what it meant: SERGEANT AVERY JOHNSON…"Oh hell," The Sergeant said. THIS IS A CODE 42: ILLIGAL COMBUSTABLE OBJECT HAS BEEN LOCATED IN YOUR VICINITY. OUR SYSTEM WILL REMOVE OBJECT FOR YOU. THANK YOU. Suddenly, before anyone could react, a tube fell from the ceiling and sucked the cigar from Johnson's mouth, not even a flake of burnt tobacco was left. "That's pissing me off!" he said pointing to the retreating tube. "I'm wasting my cigars practically everywhere I light up! In the Pool Hall, in the Arcade, in the Food Court, and even in the bathrooms for God's sake!" "Why don't you quit?" Lance asked the sergeant who was turning a shade of crimson." "Because I'm gonna be killed by what might save me!" "How so?" Chris asked wearing a slight smile. Johnson rocked his world with crazy stories. "My brother Tommy once tried quitting, went on the Nicotine stuff, two days later, got hit by an ambulance. Bad karma." Most of the men were holding in small laughs. "Any more scenarios?" Chris asked. "As a matter of fact, my cousin Carl, became a vegan, and a week later, he got run over." "What? By an ambulance?" Carl asked. "No, by a carrot truck." Most of the men were now expressing groans.

The elevator dinged and the doors slid open, up ahead, an olive drab hallway was lit up by a blue-purple tinge. The briefing room was straight ahead. "Here we go." Chris said. "Yet another mission to be completed." Carl said lumbering his sniper rifle and clicking the safety on. The men put their weapons on a rack to be collected by the quartermaster. No weapons were allowed in the briefing room. Too big a risk. Once inside, the men of the 182nd Marine Division saw that almost all of the Marines on the _Indomitable_ were sitting in the room. Chris took a seat next to Captain Shane Kanow, Commander of the 107th Helljumper Division. The captains shook hands and the lights dimmed. Admiral Andsworth strode out. "Good morning ladies and gentlemen. As you know, this is the beginning of a mission for some of you. We are holding position roughly 220,000 feet over the Earth. The city below us," he said activating the holomoniters. "Is New Mombassa, formerly known as Mombassa Island. At oh-seven-hundred hours two men from the 79th Marine Battalion made contact with an unknown alien organism. Since most of you are reserve troops, I will try to refresh anyone short of available Intel." Andsworth went on for twenty minutes explaining the situation on Alpha Centauri II and the Terrans. How the troops were massacred. Many of the troops in the seats looked uneasy, clearly noticing that this wasn't what they signed up for. "However, we do have a couple survivors from the Terran Encounter. They're sitting among you. I won't give names since they probably don't want any more exposure." _Thanks, sir_. Chris said in his head. Kanow also looked relieved, he stroked his shot black hair, thankful. "Getting back to the present, we also have survivors from the first encounter of the alien creatures. Two of them are of the Pelican Foxtrot 101, and the other, also a survivor of Alpha Centauri II, Corporal Miles Prower." Chris stiffened, Johnson also started to think. "I thought he was dead. Went down in a plane." Carl nodded. "Yeah, he went down alright, but they never confirmed if he was dead. The squad wondered how he was doing inside their heads, was he OK, was he confined to a wheel chair? Did he need amputation? Their fears became unrealized as Tails walked out onto the stage wearing a tailored dress uniform, and bandages on his head; one of his pointed ears was concealed by the dressings. He took a deep breath, "at approximately oh-seven-hundred-forty-nine hours, The Pelican Foxtrot 101 responded to or mayday signal after we went down in a Hev Hawk All Purpose Fighter registered to Corporal Ryan Percy." "I KNEW IT!" a voice roared. Almost all of the room wheeled around to see Ryan standing up, outraged. As if he uncovered some elaborate drug crime. "YOU PINCHED MY PLANE YOU RAT!" "Ryan!" Chris said leaping up. Some of the troopers uttered laughter. "I had a premonition, Chris! I felt it, I knew someone stole my plane!" He turned to Tails. "You're gonna die, man!" he said pointing at him. The hall now looked like they would explode in laughter. "Sit with me." Chris said gesturing to the seats. "I'm gonna kick his orange ass! Let me at him, I'm gonna kill the flying rat!" "Sit down! Now, Corporal!" Chris said warningly. Ryan knew he crossed a line. "I'm gonna strangle you with your own two tails, man! You wait and see! Never go to bed!" "Now, or you'll be taking a long walk down the engine shaft!" Chris said. Ryan obediently sat, tried to flip Tails off, but due to his need not to get canned, he behaved himself. Andsworth took out his handkerchief, wiped his brow, and continued. "OK…" he began, many of the soldiers started laughing now. "Thank you for that display, Corporal Percy, rest assured you will be compensated for your loss, and I will have to say I will make an appointment to the ship therapist for you once you get back." "Way to go, jerk." Carl snickered, "You get to see the shrink!" Tails was smiling widely, "Let's get back on topic, sir." Andsworth nodded. "Yes, lets. Now, as you were saying, Prower?" Tails nodded then continued with his story. "After Foxtrot 101 touched down, I was woken up by the late Staff Sergeant Brown and the late Corporal Lovitski, both KIA. The pelican pilots happened to pick up the footage that I'm about to show to you. He activated a second holomoniter. The words at the bottom of the screen said PLAY 00:00:00. It showed Tails being lifted out of the shattered Hev Hawk's cockpit. Ryan wept silently. Johnson patted his arm, "You look like you just came outta a tear-jerker, boy. The two humans broke off. "If we come back wait for us to get on. If we're not back in five, take off." Each man and woman could see the two soldiers advance and then were ambushed. They were forced to watch the horror and bloodshed. The Pelican quickly rose into the air and the moniter snapped to black. "That's all we got." Andsworth said, noticing the frightened look on each and every Marine's face, Human or Mobian. "Mr. Prower made it back, received medical attention, came here, and was warmly greeted by his teammate. Now, as it seems, many of you have less combat experience than some others so we're selecting only a few teams to go planetside. An MP passed a clipboard to Andsworth. ODSTs will be the 25th Division, 105th, and he 107th. Kanow smiled. "That's us, man. Hope we see you on the ground." "They haven't announced main forces." Chris said. "And the normal marines, 45th Battalion, 182nd Division," Chris shuddered: that was his division. His men were going downstairs. "And the 67th Battalion. Everyone else: exhale and relax. You're safe in space, for now. Chosen teams, your mission is to infiltrate the city and collect information on the creatures. This may be a suicide run. You won't be able to extract back to the ship until we've established ground to orbit transportation. You report to your tubes in fifteen. Dismissed." There was a rattle of movement as everyone exited. The selected teams began to suit up and proceed to the launch tubes.

A single HEV or Human Entry Vehicle occupied the ODST launch tubes: the main source of infiltration for ODST shock troopers. In this case, however, there were more than usual. The 182nd troopers entered the HEVs on the left side of the bay. Chris's squad in particular entered an HEV right beside another. Chris took a helmet usually reserved for a Helljumper and placed it on his head. Not as advanced as a Spartan Supersoldier's HUD, but advanced enough to increase his survival chances. Johnson tossed out his latest cigar and closed the hatch. "Launch sequence to begin." The dropmaster said. "Pre-countdown check to begin immediately. Each individual trooper checked their harness, seals, pressure locks, and reserve chutes. All green. "Lauching in T-minus ten, nine, eight, seven…" Each of Chris's squad braced their feet. "I knew I shouldn't have eaten before I got on!" Carl whined, "I think that chef's special is about to make a comeback!"

"Three, two, one, Alpha Mike Foxtrot." The chutes opened and the pods dropped. Over the Comm, he heard Johnson yell, "Yee-Haw!"

Kanow's men dropped first. Right to left, as was the tradition. The rest followed. Chris felt his stomach travel up his esophagus. "Oh man, this is insane! I've never dropped from this height before!" Carl opened a channel. "You think you got trouble, mine's floating at head level!" Chris shut off the channel in disgust.

Johnson had a channel opened to everyone except Carl, who was dealing with his own problems. "I once did this with the Chief!" he said over the friction cause by reentry. "We catapulted onto many hostile worlds to get the drop on them. But this is a first!" of course he thought that there was a chance that he would get blown out of the sky, he then said. "I'll see you groundside, boys."

The pods entered the atmosphere at 13,000 MPH and glowed white-hot. Then, after a minute it disappeared. The temperature that was over a hundred dropped to nearly sub-zero. That's when the laser bursts came. Red beams sliced through the air. One beam caught a 107th pod and blew it up, debris scattered across the view screen. "Hang on, we're a minute off till our chute point." Chris told his men. "Make it snappy, Cappy." Lance said, then ceased comm. the orbital elevator of New Mombassa appeared and many pods sailed right past it, three impacted on the nanometal frame and bounced off in different directions. "We're gonna land at the far end of the bridge on the Old Mombassa side. Hang on, try to land for the toll booths


	5. Chapter 3: Helljumping Pt 2

Twenty HEVs were locked into the same trajectory as Chris's team. The altimeter showed only three thousand feet to go. The HEVs activated their drag chutes and slowed their speed to roughly 100 MPH. About three hundred feet later, the chutes disengaged and the retro boosters took it from there.

The bridge seemed to be deserted. Twenty titanium pods drifted down towards the road. One by one, each pod slammed into the bridge, all twenty stuck, mainly into the tollbooths seeing as it would cushion their fall. The hatches of the HEVs flew out as the occupants kicked them down. Five or six slumped out and took off their helmets, gasping for cold air. Only three screamed "Medic!" and the 182nd Division's chief medic Russell Garin went to see to the wounded. About ten minutes later Garin confronted Chris. "Sir, there's mostly minor injuries. Kolaski has a fractured kneecap, Harty, has a jammed tibia too. Both from the landing sequence. Hosky however, had a crushed solar plexus. He punched out two minutes ago." He said hanging his head. "Did you get his tags?" the Captain asked his medic. Garin held up the silver ovals. "Yeah, I did." Chris heard a hum, like an anti gravity device would make. "They'll be here soon, their dropships are doing patrols." Garin looked around. "What do we do sir?" Chris thought. "We're short on Warthogs, Garin, so we'll need to commandeer some civilian vehicles." Chris said gesturing to the forgotten automobiles. "What about Hosky, sir?" Chris thought again. "Put his body in one of the crashed cars, make it look like he died in a crash. No way he deserved this." Two grim Sergeants lifted up the deceased Corporal's body and stuffed it into a Cadillac Devario that had a smashed front end. They slumped his head on the dash and positioned him so that it appeared he died when the impact shoved him into the dashboard. "Body secured, sir." The sergeant said. Chris scouted for his companions. He found them without scratches, except Carl, who had a slimy breastplate. "That's nasty." He said. "Dunk that armor in the water before we move out." "Gimme a break, sir. I never took an HEV ride before." "I'll give you that. See any good cars around here?" "Yeah I did." Lance said pointing towards the tunnel entrance. "A Dodge Juniper, an SUV that can fit eight." Chaz and Carl whistled. "Damn, that is a right fancy car to have in Old Mombassa." Chaz said admirably. "She still work?" Carl asked Lance. McGregor climbed into the cabin and scouted for a start button. He pressed it and the engine rumbled on. He could hear the pistons pounding beneath him. "Like a dream, lads. Like a dream." Johnson came to Chris. "Sergeant Stacker asked is he could come along for the ride in the Juniper." Stacke held out his hand. "Staff Sergeant Remus Stacker. Pleasure to meet you, sir." Chris shook the sergeant's hand. "Sure. There anyone else coming along for the ride?" Stacker called over his shoulder. "Rogers, Bensati! Double-time your worthless asses over here!" Two shorter men both with brown hair. Chris recognized the twitchy one. Frankie Rogers: the Corporal from the ship. The other one was unknown to him. "This is Corporal Rogers, and Corporal Bensati. They'll be filling in the last two seats. My other men have found a Ford Fission pickup truck, so my unit is pretty much behind us." Chris nodded, adjusting his hat to shield him from the morning sun. "Sure thing Sarge. Boys, move out. Get your guns; we're double-timing it across that bridge."

The men went back to the drop pods to retrieve their Military Issue SIGARMS SIG 655 4.56mm x 41mm NATO Assault Rifle. Carl cocked his rifle as a bullet slid into the chamber. "I am liking these new standard assault rifles. Very artistic design." Ryan walked up. "Why don't you marry it?" "Dude, I have a w…why do you have two guns?"

"Cuz it looks cool." Ryan said heaving his arms upward to reveal two heavily modified 655s each with 25mm grenade launcher, 100 round drum barrel, x4 scope, and over one thousand rounds of ammunition stowed in his seemingly bottomless backpack. All this put together, Ryan was carrying a combined weight of over twenty pounds. "That's gonna limit your mobility." Chris told him. "Each rifle weighs ten pounds. Sure you can handle that?" Ryan cocked both rifles _at once_, extended the collapsible stocks with his shoulders, and holstered them. "Sure I can handle them. I make guns for a living; you don't think I can carry two measly 655s?" Chris put up his free hand in defense. "Never said that. Your choice." All of the squad, including Stacker and his two corporals climbed into the Juniper. Lance put the vehicle into Drive and the SUV rumbled forward. Behind them, five intact vehicles also lurched behind them. Their small but improvised battalion made their way across the bridge. Slowly but surely edged forward. On the cars, at least one trooper was through the sunroof playing either Support or Sniper. The SIG 655 could be modified for sniper action, something Carl had done, Support, which Ryan had, or even Commando that came with a silencer and laser sight. That was Chris's forte. As for the others such as Chaz and Lance, they had standard rifles, but Chaz and Lance carried their own signature weapons. Chaz had his 45mm AAW and Lance had his ancient but effective M249 SAW. Chris on the other hand only had a signature sidearm. That was the also ancient Desert Eagle Magnum, probably the most powerful handgun _still_ on the planet. About half of a mile away, Johnson noticed something. "Wait a minute. This bridge should be swarming with enemies. When the chief took a tank and two marines, everywhere he looked there'd be a Ghost hoverbike or a Wraith tank. Why isn't there any Terrans popping up to get us?" Lance shifted into Third Gear. "I don't know Sarge but I don't like it. I feel that there's someone watching us."

Another half a mile away from them, inside a hastily crafted Command Center, Field Commander Donalov Britva and Captain Donald Terry of the Terrans watched the convoy of vehicles advance past the first truss of the bridge. Britva lowered his binoculars. "I don't see why there are so few, Donald." He said to the Captain. "Well Britva, more of the human pods dropped somewhere into the city center as well. Only twenty were estimated to have dropped at the Old Mombassa side as the Earthlings call it." A red light flashed on the Command Center's comm. desk. Britva pressed the button. "Go ahead." He said. "Sir, this is Vulture 21 reporting in." Britva contined. "What is it, Vulture 21? Do you have anything to report?" the Vulture pilot continued. "Yes, sir. We noticed that there is charred remains of some structure." Britva turned to Donald. "Definitely the Earthmen's pods. They must've collapsed over time." "And there also appears to be a dead Earthman inside a crashed car. He must've been killed when the vehicle smashed into the walls." Britva asked, "What of the Earthling convoy? The one passing over the bridge?"

The Vulture pilot adjusted his tinted sunglasses and looked up the road. He could see the taillights of the moving cars reflecting in the sunlight. "We have them in sight." He told his superiors on the far end of the bridge. The small fleet of Vulture hoverbikes was large and sufficient enough to bring the convoy down. The bikers opened throttle and sped up road. However, none of them knew that they too were being watched. Up on the bridge's first truss, a lone figure dressed entirely in black, Special Forces Black. The figure brought its binoculars to its eyes and scoped out the bikes: twenty in all. Way more than enough to bring the convoy to their knees. They needed help, and quick. The figure went prone and took out a PSG-120 Bolt Action Sniper Rifle and scoped it. And as added insurance the figure pressed a button on its wrist. The armor then faded out of the visible spectrum. Everything the figure had, its armor, its body, its guns, was all gone. Silently, the figure prepared to fire.

Lance put the vehicle into the next gear. "I don't like this. It's too quiet." Johnson flicked his cigar out the window. "What do you expect? The place is deserted." "Yeah I know, its just I have a strange feeling that we're being followed." Stacker answered, "Whatever gave you that idea?" "Umm, guys?" Chris said pointing into the rearview mirror. All eyes in the Juniper moved to whatever mirror showed the behind of them. Chris looked again. What appeared to be Vulture hoverbikes was advancing towards them. "That's not good." He said. Words etched into the bottom of the mirror said: OBJECTS IN MIRROR ARE CLOSER THAN THEY APPEAR. The Captain risked turning his head in time to see a bike with a very angry looking driver speed up to the convoy. The cannon underneath the bike flashed and huge slugs flew past the car and one severed the left mirror. It clattered to the road and other cars swerved to avoid the piece of glass. "Oh, that's it." Chris said. Chris took his hat off and cocked his rifle, listening to the sweet sound as the receiver opened its mouth to take in the first round of ammunition. "Party time, boys!" All the occupants in the car also charged their guns. Ryan, who was through the sunroof, took aim. "Eat it!" he yelled and unloaded on the Vultures. The gun's noise was tremendous; spent shells hit Chris and Johnson on the head. "Watch it, will you?" Johnson said, lighting up. Ryan used the x4 scope to find his targets. A Harris bipod supported the monster 655 as is belched FMJ bullets. The Vulture's skin seemed to absorb the bullets, some clanging off, but after 50 rounds, the inner workings started to show. "All right, boys," Chris said. "Concentrate Fire!" All of the guns in the car aimed squarely at the Vulture that Ryan was unloading at. Chris could've sworn that the driver mouthing, "damn" before becoming a human target board. Almost all of the rounds fired landed squarely on the biker; the rest went to the engine, which exploded. The hoverbike was catapulted twenty feet into the air and flew off of the bridge. Before anyone could do anything about it, two more Vultures advanced on the SUV. And before anyone could react, both of the pilots' heads exploded outwards raining the SUV with brains and blood.

"That's nasty!" Chris said wiping the gore off his face. "Who the hell did that?" Stacker pointed towards the first truss. There, a figure was sliding down the cables and proceeded toward the next truss. "Damn, that's a hell of a shot to make coming down the cables." Stacker said. "Who's side do you think he's on?" Rogers asked his CO. "Well," Johnson said, taking a drag on his Sweet Williams, "We owe him a favor, he saved our lives."

"What about the others?" Chris asked. Bensati scoped his weapon. "All present and accounted for, sir. But they're in one hell of a crossfire." All the cars including the Ford Fission in which Stacker's platoon was in were firing off rounds at the hoverbikes. "McGregor," Chris said addressing Lance. "Put on the brakes, we need to give them a hand!" Lance slammed on the brakes. "Your wish is my command!" Lance said. Each man heard and smelt burning rubber as the vehicle skidded to a near halt. The rest of the convoy caught up with them and so did the Vultures. The mysterious figure continued to offer aid and sniped whenever possible. The convoy was near the end of the bridge now. Chris turned to see a tower erected in the tollbooth area. "I have a bad feeling about that building. Ryan! Take it down. Chaz, give him a hand!" Ryan ceased fire and drew his second 655. He flipped up the targeting sights and prepared to fire his grenades. Chaz drew his 45mm AAW. Both men fired at the exact same time and both the missiles and twin grenades snaked towards their targets.

At the command center, Britva noticed that the lead vehicle fired what appeared to be a missile and two grenades. There was no time. So, Britva did what he could do. He placed a protesting Donald Terry in front of him when the grenades impacted. He was obliterated entirely by the grenades. This did not, however, stop the missile; it flew in, detonated, and blew him halfway to hell.

Chris, Lance, Chaz, Ryan and Johnson shielded their eyes from the resounding explosion. "Woo!" Ryan crowed. "Did you see how big that was?" Lance grinned. "I should've brought my camcorder." All of the vehicles sped through the still falling debris. The cars had to squeeze through. Many marines chattering about how big the explosion was. And even the figure had commandeered a Vulture and moved to join the marines. Two vultures, however, did not turn in time, smashing into the tollbooths and bucking their riders through the glass. All the vehicles proceeded downwards into the underground highway. About half of the Vultures remained. Chris decided to take a shot. He steadied himself out the window at the straightaway, held his breath, and fired. The 655 coughed and sent a spiraling bullet towards a vulture close by. The aim was true. Chris was rewarded with a flash of red and a tumbling bike. One seemed to be catching up to them but fell short, and fell under the fire of the Ford Fission and a Pontiac Oracle X. "Thanks, boys!" Stacker called to the Fission. "We want raises, Chief!" came voices from the Fission. Stacker chuckled and continued to find targets. One drove up on the left. This one appeared to be double riding. One driving, and another one gunning. "Hey, Lance," Chris said. "Yeah, boss?" "Isn't double riding on a bike illegal?" Lance shrugged. "I think so, Sir. Want me to write 'em up?" Chris smiled. "Do better." Lance smiled too. "Oh, yessir. Buckle up people!" Lance spun the wheel to the left and the Juniper obeyed. The Vulture never saw it coming: the SUV slammed into the hoverbike, brought it to the slanted walls, and flung it upwards. No one paid attention as the bike slammed into a parked truck and exploded. The convoy took a turn and started to go uphill. "This is it, freedom!" Carl said. Suddenly a boom came. All of them looked round: The trailing vehicle, A Mitsubishi Hitachi that held three marines, detonated in a fireball. The car flew upwards and impacted on the ceiling. The car then dropped and landed on the Vulture that blew it up. Rolling downhill, it caught another. The figure however, steered out of the way onto the service road on the right side of the tunnel. "Man, that was lucky." "Don't get cocky, boys. We aren't outta this yet." Johnson said. The last Vulture fell under combined fire, sliding the last hundred feet out of the tunnel. The remaining vehicles flew into the air and slammed onto the metal road. All of the cars shut down their engines and everyone laughed. "We made it!" Chris said happily. "I knew we would." Ryan said. "Course we would." Lance said, turning around. "With a trigger happy nuthead like Ryan and a tactical genius like the Captain here, we were blessed." "You know, for once, I think I'm going to take that as a compliment." Ryan said. "And thanks for the praise, but Chaz did no better in the mess hall. "Thanks, very much." Chaz said wiping the gunpowder off of his AAW. "Sarge, you OK?" Johnson nodded and pounded his chest. "Never better. What about you, Remus?" Stacker wiped the sweat from his beard and looked over himself. "I got a bit of shrapnel in me, but it never got past the Kevlar. I'm good." "Wait guys…" Chris said, trying to hear. "What's that?" Carl asked. It sounded like slithering. "This all seems so familiar." Johnson said alarmed. There was only one place in the galaxy he heard that before but it didn't seem right." "Where's that coming from Santorini?" he asked questioning Carl. "I see something!" Chris screamed. He pointed towards a Ford Yatamio. A huge red creature stood there larger than ten feet. As large as a Lekgolo, or Hunter. But this was not Covenant, nor was it Flood. It raised its terrible, bloodstained scythe-like claws. And it struck fear into the marines. "What is that thing?" Carl demanded, looking absolutely terrified. "I…I don't know!" Chris said. It raised its head and screamed a hellish noise to the sky and slithered towards the Juniper. "Light it up, Marines!" Chris yelled heaving his rifle. All the vehicles opened fire. Three more advanced, followed by small rat-like creatures with claws on their backs. Chris made two bursts and reloaded, the smoking clip almost instantly replaced by a new one. The unloaded it into the creature's mouth. After he was done, he could see through. The alien collapsed in pain, twitched, then died. The tiny creatures fell under Ryan's akimbo 655s. The figure was nowhere to be seen. Maybe he made a break for it. More were coming. Just how much more were there. He saw one of the larger aliens sing its claws into the gas tank of a Honda Seraclade. The vehicle exploded, lighting the creature on fire, but killing two of the three marines hiding behind it. "Garin's down! Medic!" a marine said. "Garin _is _our medic!" Chris yelled back. "Oh yeah…oh…" he said. He then quickly went to find someone who could revive their medic. Another clip was replaced. Chris took aim and sent ten bullets towards the eyes of a large creature. The bullets struck and trickles of crimson exploded outwards. Chris lunged forward and sunk his dagger into the creature's throat and severed its head. The creature sunk to the ground and spilled gallons of blood. "Man, you should get a medal for that. Look out!" Johnson said. Chris turned and immediately went into a state of mind known as Bullet Time, an art taught to him by his martial art sensei. Thousands knew it, but hundreds mastered it. The world moved slower, but only to Chris. He saw that a creature had attempted to slash at Chris. He sliced that arm off, and the other, and sent three magnum rounds down the creature's throat. He came out of Bullet Time to see his carnage take place. "Man, you have to hook me up with that thing." Johnson said admirably. "After the mission. There's another bunch of little creatures left. They all took out their SIG 655s and went to work. Ryan lobbed a grenade and sent five cart wheeling into the air. Chris took out his dagger and skewered one of them. Carl and Lance both watched each other's back and fired when needed. Everyone else was just picked and chose. All was well until Chris went to go and kill a retreating little creature. He finished it off when he felt the wind knocked out of him. He saw the ghostly white eyes of a creature staring down at him, its skull-like face in a twisted smile. Chris screamed for help. But none came: they were petrified. It opened its mouth and tasted the human's scent. Satisfied, it raised its claw ready to pierce into his chest cavity when a hole suddenly appeared in the creature's face. Blood splattered the human on the face. Then, the weight was heaved off of him. Standing in the blinding sunlight, still in black, was the mysterious figure. The figure held out a hand. Chris took it graciously. "Perfect timing. I was starting to get worried there." The figure didn't laugh. maybe it was a robot. "Me and the guys owe you our lives. We'd like to thank you." The figure nodded. Chris interpreted that, as 'you're welcome.' "Who are you?" "Whoa, sir, lets not get personal. If the dude wants to remain anonymous, let him." Johnson advised. The figure removed its goggles. Robots didn't have life-like eyes like that. This was 100 organic. "Who are you?" The figure then spoke. "The only being that has the nerve to chase you across universes." Chris was suspicious. "Many people are after me." "The thing is," The figure said. "Is that this particular being who has all the nerve to chase you across universes is someone who loves you." Chris the, broke into a wide smile. "Sally?" The figure took off the mask to reveal the stunning blue eyes, red hair and the face of Princess Sally Alicia Acorn, Princess of Mobius.


	6. Chapter 4: The Meeting

Chapter 4: The Meeting

October 3rd 3235 1200 h

New Mombassa, outskirts. Sector 14-Financial District

"Sally." Chris repeated, smiling widely. "Hello, Chris." She said to him. Next thing he knew, she hugged him tightly. "I thought I was never going to see you again." Chris said.

Sally looked up to him, and then smirked. "Hey, captain, before you do anything, try wiping your face." Chris moved a hand up his skin and touched the blood. "Oh yeah. Rag, someone." Ryan opened one of the many pockets of his backpack and retracted his hand with a rag in it. He tossed it to Chris. The human wiped the blood off his face. The rag, not surprisingly, smelt of gunpowder. "Thanks, Ryan." He tossed it back. "Where were we?" Chris asked the Mobian princess. He kissed her. Time seemed slowed down ten times. Chris had always found kissing a Mobian rather different than kissing a human.

When the finished, Sally started crying. "What's wrong?" Chris asked her. "I couldn't bare to let you go. You could've died." Chris glanced over his shoulder at the dead alien. "I could see that. Nice shot, by the way." "I couldn't live with it. Sonic's gone, and you could be dead, I didn't know what to do." Chris hugged her softly. He said, "It's OK, I'm alright." While stroking her hair, but in his head, he thought _Women, Jesus!_ Chris then said, "Rag?" Sally looked up to him, saw the bloodstained cloth and said with a smile, "I think I'm good." Chris laughed and kissed her on the head. "It's good to see you, Sal."

"All right, what's the casualty count?" Chris said walking back to the garrison of surviving troops. "We have five confirmed deaths: Three in the Hitachi, two killed in the latest blast." Johnson said "Garin's OK but he needs to heal." Logan took a holomap from his pocket. "Thanks, Logan" Chris said, punched in co-ordinates and placed the map on the ground. A holographic map of New Mombassa appeared in thin air two feet above the ground with the monster space elevator in the center. A green arrow pointing down marked their position. "We are in the Financial District, Sector 14." Chris said aloud so that all the 16 soldiers could hear. "We have two objectives." Two blue arrows appeared now, one close-by, the other on the opposite side of the city. "The marines that landed near objective 1B will neutralize the long range air defense turrets taken by the Terrans. A giant gun appeared onscreen; almost two hundred meters long. "It's fully automatic, able to take a destroyer out in under a minute. Real heavy piece of hardware." All of the men started to look real distressed with the possibility of no evac. "Now, the good news is that it can't track anything smaller than a pelican. That's how we got down here all right." He made the camera zoom in on the gun. "The cannon is powered by these three power intake cables." Three fairly thick cables one meter in diameter appeared. "A simple grenade blast or cutting it with a dagger will work fine. The cannon will probably be under heavy guard so we should be careful. By a show of hands, how many have taken the Stealth Combat Course in the academy?" almost twelve hands, including Sally's shot up. Only Johnson in his unit had taken the course and passed. "OK, by a show of hands, who took the Stealth Combat Course in the academy _and failed?_" Three hands. Only one PFC had not taken the course at all. "That should give you some experience. These crowded streets should give us perfect vantage points and allow cover. I'm going to try and establish a connection upstairs. Chris took his radio and tried to coordinate it with the Global Communications Satellite in orbit. It worked and a line came through. "This is Captain Chris Vennettilli of the 182nd Marine Infantry Division, anybody reading this, over?"

Three hundred miles above the Earth's surface, Lieutenant Jaffa saw a light shine on the communications console. "Sir, there's a transmission coming through." Andsworth sat up cautiously. "Is it from a ship of ours?" Jaffa checked the signal and coordianates. "Not exactly. While the transponder code is UNSC, I'm reading this transmission from the ground." Andsworth said, "Understood. Patch it through" Chris's voice came through the bridge speakers. "This is Captain Chris Vennttilli of the 182nd Marine Infantry Division, anybody reading this, over?" Andsworth spoke up. "I read you, son. How's the op going? Smooth?" a light, amused chuckle came over the line. "Not exactly, sir. Most of the men have had it rough. At about T minus 20 and 35 we lost three men on the bridge and two to the strange aliens. We managed to catch them on tape. We can send you the video through E-mail." Andsworth nodded with satisfaction. "That's only half the job done though, Captain. We need Intel on these things. How much, How Many, Where, When and Why, understood?" "Yessir. And sir?" "Shoot." "I sort of get the feeling that it's not safe to talk, on either of our ends I mean." At this, the admiral laughed. "Captain, captain! We're fine! There's not a ship in radar scanning distance. The only ship even in this sector is a Terran ship and they aren't getting any closer! After this, I'll see to it you get some R&R. Besides. I hear that miss Acorn has joined your little party. Having fun with her?" Andsworth couldn't see it, but he was causing the captain to blush considerably on the ground. "Well right now, no. And if you mean what I think you mean, no, also." Andsworth laughed again. "Well behave yourselves, now. Call me if you need me." "Understood, sir. Captain Vennettilli out." Lieutenant Velo turned to his commander. "Orders, sir?" Andsworth hunched forward, his chin in his palm. "Lieutenant Braden?" the Mobian Lieutenant spun around so that her brown hair swayed. "Yes, sir?" "Take the safeties off of the Magnetic Accelerator Cannons. Load a round. And make sure the Archer Missile pods are ready to fire." Sue's manicured nails danced on the keyboard so fast that the keys didn't even have time to spring back up before another one was punched down. "Orders sent sir. But begging the admiral's pardon but why are we loading munitions into the tubes?" Andsworth took a sip of a coffee brought to him by an ensign. "I don't know. I just get the feeling about what the captain said."

"What about what Chris said?" "I just also have this sneaking suspicion that there's more going on here than we know."

Thousands of kilometers away the cloaked Terran BattleCruiser intercepted every word exchanged between the officer on the ground and the one in space. Lieutenant Iraski went to her commander Geralski. "Fleet Commander, I'm sorry to disturb you but we just intercepted a message exchanged between the Captain and his admiral." Geralski nodded his head without looking at her: the signal to continue. " We have received reports that what the humans call 'the creatures' have killed five men since they touched down." Geralski then turned around and seized the reports from Iraski's hands. "Oh my, my, my. They don't know yet." Iraski said, "Yes sir. They seem oblivious to it." "I see that we can make this work to our advantage. Here's what I want you to do, Ursula. I want a detachment of Goliaths to be sent to enforce the cannons. No doubt the Earthlings would travel there. And what's this?" He read over a certain part. "Oh, the captain has a woman on the battlefield with him. We sure can make this work." "Sir?" Iraski inquired. "Where do you strike a man where it hurts most, Lieutenant?" all Iraski could say was "Crotch?"

"No you waste of a silver bar, the heart!" "Oh, OK." "Move the troops out." Geralski concluded ushering her out of the bridge.


	7. Chapter 5: Shake n' Bake

Chapter 5: Shake n' Bake 

October 2nd 3235 1534 h

New Mombasa, Sector 15- Entertainment District

En route to surface to air cannon

Soldier's Log:

Captain Chris Vennettilli

/Begin Log/

I can honestly say that this day has been one of the most amazing and frightening days of my life. On the plus side, no one died on the move between the point where we met the aliens that killed two men to Sector 15 of the city: The Entertainment District. Here, New Mombasians do whatever they want to in their spare time: Watch a movie, throw some dice, watch a decent peep show and even play virtual reality video games. I've been looking forward to playing Top Gun VR Fighter Sim when I get back from this op. And one of the scariest days of my life was today as well. No one could ever relate to what I saw in those eyes. The creature that nearly gored me. I never want to look into those eyes again. I can honestly say I was frightened. I never want to see them again! And above all, I have to think of Sally. It's no fate for her to fall prey to those creatures. For her sake and mine, I'm gonna pull through; For her. For us.

/End Entry/

Chris lowered the datapad. His hands were sore from typing. His eyes leaking slightly as he recalled the horrifying incident. He then thought of Sally; her blue eyes wide in fear. The slithering creature was rearing up to attack. She screamed, but there was no one to help her. Before the claws struck, Chris opened his eyes and started to breathe deeply. He had clammy skin. He spared a look at Sally. She was sitting next to Stacker helping him take a bit of shrapnel out of his arm. She laughed as he told her a joke. She was happy right now. Chris thought. But she's in danger. I wish she never came. But secretly, he was thankful. He would've been dead if it wasn't for her. He then checked his clock. 1340. They were wasting time. "OK, marines. Break time's over. The cannons aren't far." Sally put some All Purpose Combat Dressing on Stacker's arm. "You should be OK now, Sarge. Take it easy." Stacker tipped his hat to her in a sign of thanks. "Little First Aid work?" Chris asked her with a smile. "Sure. I've been helping out many marines with injuries every time we stopped. You won't believe how many minor lacerations there are. Those little creatures are hell, huh?" Chris laughed. Of course she was going to survive. She's a Mobian. She'll adapt. "So how are we going to get past the guards?" Chris said then. "I'm thinking. I'll get back to you." He then walked ahead to think on his plan. He placed his cap back on his head.

About twenty minutes later, the marines entered the massive shadow of the gun. "Damn!

Look at the size of that thing! That thing blocks out the sun!" a marine said. "Yeah?" said another. "So do most of the buildings in this city!" Johnson came up to Chris. "Sir, this is suicide. There's gotta be fifty men in front of that gun!" Chris nodded. "That's right Sergeant. We just need to outthink, outmaneuver, and above all, out kill. You with me, man?" Johnson nodded and took a draft on his cigar. "Yeah. What do you need me to do?" "Take the men and post Overwatch inside that building at my eleven o' clock." Chris said gesturing towards a building with a blown out third story. "You can use the debris as a makeshift stairway. Wait until I give the signal to open fire." Chris then turned to Loagn. "Lance Corporal, you know these Terrans best. What can you tell me of their tactics?" Logan racked his memory towards his affiliation with Terran Military techniques. "Well, if I remember properly; Terrans generally attack if another squadmate is brought down. That's a suicide run, considering we're outgunned three to one. However, Terrans look to higher ranked units for guidance. If you hit them first, the underlings will crack under fear, making them much easier prey." Chris smiled. "Great job, Lance Corporal. If all goes well, I'll recommend you for the Marine Combat Intelligence Ribbon." Logan nodded. "Thank you, Sir."

Chris pulled out a silenced Dyson SMG. The caseless gun sported a reflex sight of 1.5 magnifications. Nothing fancy, just enough to get them away from the cannons. Chris aimed. The red dot aimed squarely at the Commander's head. His faceplate was open. Perfect. Chris exhaled and squeezed off one shot from his gun.

The Dyson coughed as one rifled shot sped away at mach speed. The bullet pieced the Commander's cheekbone and exited behind his ear. The blood that came from the exit wound matched with the paint. The Commander's corpse swayed, and then clunked face first onto the instacrete road. The lower ranked solders squealed and ran towards their leader. They called for help. Almost all of them went to help. Chris flattened his hand straight and moved it from left to right. Open Fire. The guns in the third story of the building barked and sent hundreds of rounds towards the Terrans. All that had their backs turned died instantly. The ones on the opposite side had time to draw their weapons before being hosed down. Some that weren't present at the scene made a run for it, but soon fell under the marksmanship skills of Sally Acorn. "Good work, men." He called to the positioned marines. He then called to his three handpicked bodyguards, Stacker, Logan, and Ryan. "Let's move up. One of us takes out the wires while the others provide overwatch.

"This has had to be the simplest job in UNSC history." Stacker said. "Nah, there was an easier one." Ryan said pushing his custom built 665 with a new feature, a chainsaw-like bayonet. "That's completely unorthodox by the way." Stacker said pointing to the bayonet. "And what was the job?" "I think it was 12 years ago the 45th Division had to escort an APC through a Ghost Town. Not a shot fired if I read the reports correctly."

Chris had just set a C-12 detonator for five minutes on the middle power conduit. "OK, boys, five minutes then things will get crispy." Stacker nodded and keyed on his mike. "OK, marines. The captain says we have to haul ass outta this area. Get moving double…" But stacker received a bullet into his forearm. "God DAMNIT!" he roared in pain and sunk behind the conduit. Chris quickly went to stacker. "Sarge, you OK?" He found Stacker. His bicep leaking blood profusely "That's the same Goddamn place I was shot last time!" he barked. "Jesus Christ this hurts!" Chris tilted his head to the other two marines. "We have a man down! What clipped Sarge?" "This ain't good." Ryan said. "Well what is it?" the captain asked. "I'm reading _six_ assault walkers inbound. Repeat, half a dozen Goliaths inbound!"

This was unexpected. Unwanted. Chris yelled to Logan. "You never said anything about Goliaths!" He then turned to stacker, handing him a battle dressing. "Put this on the wound. Keep pressure." Stacker accepted the dressing muttering "Sure." "What's this about, Corporal?" Logan looked thunderstruck. "I don't know, sir!" Chris believed him, despite what his military training screamed at him. "There wasn't supposed to be any Goliaths in this battlefield! The UAV scans only showed Terran troops and a dozen technicians. Not a single Goliath was present!" Chris flushed. "That only leaves one conclusion, they know about us." Stacker called up from the ground. "What do you mean 'they know about us'?" "I mean they're intercepting our transmissions from the ground to orbit. This mission should've been a Goddamned breeze. We have to call the admiral." Ryan called out. "Sir that would be lovely, but let's focus on the six walking death machines shooting the hell outta us!" Chris had forgotten about the Goliaths. "Squad 2, can you draw them off while we recuperate?" Johnson called from the rooftop. "Sure thing Captain, but I'm having second thoughts about this." "Explain them to me at the next staff meeting Sergeant!" the human captain shouted into his mike. "Yes, sir. Firing!"

Johnson shouted "Alright, maggots! Let's give the captain some covering fire!" the survivors raised their guns and took aim at the 'Mechs that didn't know of their presence.

"Open Fire!" The marines opened fire with their 665s with steady _bramms_ of Semi Auto fire. The rounds pinged off the Goliaths armor but the pilots took notice. The torso swung about looking for targets. The missiles shivered in their gantries as the pilots looked for a chance. The marines appeared again with reloaded weapons. Johnson thought _what the hell is the boy up to? I hope he doesn't plan to get us all killed._ Johnson's eyes grew wide as the missile in the left arm tube launched. He and many others jumped out of the way in time, but the missile struck and shredded two marines. Johnson cursed and said, "Acorn, you're up!" Sally quickly sprinted towards the newly created hole and threw herself inside. She sighted her PSG-120 quickly, exhaled and prepared to fire. The Sniper rifle went off with a resounding _crack_ and sent a rifled round through the windshield of the Goliath that shot the missile. The machine tiled over. The pilot's hand closed on the firing stub and sent hundreds of rounds blindly all over the place. Half of those connected with the other Goliath at its side and blew off its leg. The machine exploded in a fireball as it sustained even more bullets. Sally expressed a wide smile. She jerked back the bolt and let the 14mm APFSDS round eject from the chamber. She reversed that to send the next bullet into the chamber and steady for the next shot. She exhaled again. This time she aimed for a different spot. She let the bullet fly and slam into the front of another Goliath's missile. The missile exploded and blew half of the 'Mech off. Johnson said into his mike, "What's going on, Captain? You planting flowers?" Bullets from the three remaining Goliaths kept on impacting on the building frame. "Ok, we're done!"

Chris and Ryan were busy working on a nuclear satchel charge. Ludicrous. That's what Chris thought when Ryan brought up the idea. "Well, combine that with the C-12 we already planted, the munitions for the Goliaths and the gas in the turret's tanks needed to produce the laser shots, you have a pretty big boom there." Chris looked at Ryan and removed his sunglasses. "Your life revolves around explosions doesn't it?" Ryan smiled sheepishly. "How the hell did you get all this stuff anyway?" The captain asked. "My company RyCorp, that owns my gun warehouse actually houses several defense contracts. Especially with NATO and the Russian military. They're the ones who supplied me with the nuclear fusion charge you see here." Stacker was finished bandaging his arm. "That's fine and all but every second you all yap, one of our soldiers has a chance of getting killed." Chris couldn't believe the sergeant was talking back and was about to chew him out, but then he noticed that he was correct. A missile impact blew apart two marines. "Come on, Ryan. Put this thing together."

Chris held his breath. It was amazing Ryan could fuse the charge without setting it off. A nuclear charge that small could fry everything within a radius of fifty feet. That was still hardcore. Finally, with the connecting of two more wires it was done. Johnson was a little panicky. "What's going on, Captain? You planting flowers?" Chris opened up a COM channel "OK, we're done!" "Finally! We were beginning to think you forgot about us." Chris was amused. "What, and risk losing my bonus? I don't think so."

Sally sighted her rile again. She was going to enjoy this. She aimed until her scope was situated on the Goliath's fuel cap. The Vespine gas that the Terrans used as fuel would ignite and blow the upper torso to the moon. She exhaled until her lungs were empty then squeezed: _click_.

Sally became wide eyed. _Click_? That meant she was out of ammo. The princess sighed in disappointment. That would've been a good shot. She also noticed that her only source of ammo was more than seventy feet below her. Chris came on the channel. "I recommend you all stop firing and make your way out of the building. Be sure you don't attract the Goliaths attention as you exit. "How do we do that?" Sally asked. "Move back beyond the pilot's vision into the building. Then find a back door out. I know there's a fire exit. Things are about to get very hot." He then shut off the channel. "Well, here we go." She muttered. "Alright, guys!" she called to the troops who were still firing. "The captain says we have to exfiltrate through the rear of the building. Yesterday. Don't make it look like you're running away, just back up slowly like you're re-supplying." A few soldiers yelled 'Yes, Ma'am' or 'Yes, your highness' and slowly backed up. Johnson came up to her. "What's going on, Sally?" the human sergeant said. "This place is about to be blown higher than a Athio VI drug addict!" Johnson took the hint then fell back. The Goliaths kept on unloading rounds on their position. _Poor bastards_ Johnson thought as the bullets pinged searching for targets. Once everyone was outside, they started to go down the fire exit.

"Ok, Ryan. How long until this miracle of mass destruction goes off?" Chris asked his weapon specialist. Ryan checked his watch. "In about forty five seconds. Give or take a hundred googolseconds or so."

All the men at the position turned their heads at the end of his sentence. "F-forty-five seconds?" Chris asked nervously. "What? I made the fuse shorter for dramatic effect."

Chris bared his teeth, something that didn't happen every day. "Ooh, I'm gonna tie you to an engine you son of a murglak!" Chris leapt up. "If you value your lives, get the hell outta here!" he screamed to his squad. It took fifteen seconds to load up. Everyone was now sweating. It also took another fifteen to wait for a blind spot in the sensor ranges for the Goliaths. "Come on!" Chris said, urging the Goliath to turn its torso. When the moment came, the squad dashed through. Five seconds. The Goliath turned, noticing the retreating marines. Three seconds. It then noticed the explosive and started to back away. One second. The captain cursed as an adrenaline boost sped him up. Zero seconds.

The electronic timer sent an electronic signal to the primer. The primer activated a detonator within the bomb that impacted upon the material at the velocity of a nuclear bomb. The explosion ate through the vacuum-sealed package, ignited the Semtex that plastered it in place and devoured the Goliaths dead in their tracks. The Vespine fuel aided to the explosion, making a violent blast that took down an entire building. The blast also clipped the C-12, which was in double digits for an explosion too. The plastic explosives went off and made a huge explosion. Needless to say the turret was down. The explosion was magnified to almost two hundred feet of an intense explosion. Chris and the others were flung into the air. Chris could feel the heat tearing at his back. The blast carried them ten feet where Chris landed face first. His chin hit the metal ground. He bit his lip and blood started to flow.

Suddenly, he was helped up. Johnson had his hand on Chris's shoulder. "You all right, boy?" the Sergeant Major asked the Captain. "Yeah. What happened?" Ryan walked up. "The explosion magnified almost four times its power and radius. If anything, it…" Ryan didn't get to finish. Chris punched him hard in the face. Ryan staggered and fell to the ground. A whole lot of marines went to restrain him. "Hey! Captain, what you do that for?" Corporal Rogers said holding his fist back. "He nearly killed me!" Sally walked up to him. Both pity and anger in her eyes. "What's wrong with you?" she asked. Chris couldn't look at her. He hated himself. "Chris, look at me." The captain finally did. "Come on, it's OK. You're still alive. You're alright." Chris looked at her. "But Ryan was an idiot." ("Thanks a lot." Ryan said.) "Ryan, you **are** an idiot." Sally said looking sharply at him. ("You're welcome too.") "But it's not his fault. I'm OK; you're OK, no harm done." Chris's men stepped away, confident that he had cooled down enough. "Jesus, man. I'm sorry." That's something you didn't hear from an officer every day. "Hey, Its OK. I never liked that tooth anyway." Chris laughed. He turned to look at the destruction they caused. The nuclear satchel charge had blown a twenty-foot deep crater in the ground that was almost two hundred feet across. The Goliaths were entirely gone. The cannon's ruins only stood. And the building the marines had formerly occupied had been blown away. "Wow. What a blast." Chris said. "I'll say!" said a voice in the ranks.

Up in space, in a gyosynchronized orbit near the New Mombassa MOE, the UNSC _Indomitable_ was running silent. Admiral Gerome Andsworth had noticed a pinprick of light that came from within the city center. "Good God. Was that an explosion?" the admiral asked Velo. "Zooming in, playing back recording… Confirmed, it is in fact, an explosion near objective 1A." Jack told his superior officer. The junior officers thought they heard Andsworth mutter 'Ryan' under his breath. But they couldn't be sure. "How's that Terran BattleCruiser?" Velo checked his scopes. "Still holding position." Andsworth was calm, but he was growing ever more suspicious. He pushed it out of his mind. "The objectives are still standing?" "1A is down for the count. 1B has the marines in the remaining teams moving towards them. All in all, it's going very smoothly." "Sir, what about the Intel we need to gather?" Lieutenant Braden asked her commanding officer. "I know those troopers. They won't fail in their mission, I can assure your next promotion on it, Lieutenant." Sue blushed. She had become the center of attention for about a whole minute. Even that was a lot on a military vessel. "Still receiving active transponders." Velo informed the admiral. "How many we lose?" Andsworth asked Jack. "Out of the one hundred total troopers deployed. Only ten have flatlined." Andsworth put his face in his hand. That was still a lot. Many of those men were fathers. "Alright. Anything out of the ordinary happening?" Velo scanned the city. "Hang on, we have something." Andsworth bolted upright. "What kind of something?" Velo checked his file. "It's a video feed from the 67th we sent down earlier. Priority Alpha." "Well, open it up, Lieutenant!" "Yes sir." Velo's hands were a blur. A video screen popped up on the main display. Lieutenant Colonel Chuck Matthews came on screen.

"We got a feed?" Matthews inquired to a marine off-screen. "OK, then. Admiral sir, this is Lieutenant Colonel Matthews here." Andsworth looked relieved, but sensed urgency inside of Matthews' voice. "What's your status, soldier?" "We are in a bad vibe here sir. At first it was Terrans, but then these _things_ sir. They ambushed us. Staff Sergeant Kiki and Second Lieutenant Omiaki were just _mutilated_, sir. You gotta get us outta here!" Andsworth wanted to. He very much wanted to, but the UN had its agenda. He needed to press on. "Negative, Lieutenant Colonel. As much as I want to, we can't endanger the operation. You are going to continue with this operation weather you like it or not, understood?" A frown had dug itself deep in Matthew's features. "Yes, sir." He said in almost a sob. Andsworth shut off the channel.

The admiral had noticed that all of the bridge watched him. Sue Braden and a few other Mobians on the bridge watched at him with their big 'anime' eyes. All of the humans looked too. "Matthews fought in the Second Rainforest war." Andsworth said. "He killed more than a thousand people, bombed buildings, and tortured prisoners. Never once did he shed a tear." Jaffa and Velo looked at each other and whispered something. "But now, I look at this monitor and there's a man of nearly sixty years of age breaking down like a girl who had her dolly's head popped off." No one laughed. Andsworth didn't want anyone to. "I just gotta know what there things are. Who would you ask Braden?" Sue considered it, her pointed ears twitching in thought. "I'd ask a man who'd know the galaxy, seen plenty of races and battles. Doesn't hurt if he has connections in the Underworld." Then the sun came up. "I know just the guy, but I don't like it." Andsworth said.


	8. Chapter 6: Questions and Answers

Chapter 6: Questions and Answers 

October 2nd 3235 1610 h

In Gyosynchronized orbit over New Mombassa

UNSC _Indomitable_

"Got that COM signal ready?" The admiral asked. "Yup, All systems go." Velo said. "Fire away, sir." Andsworth cleared his throat. "Ahem, this is Admiral Gerome Andsworth of the UNSC supercarrier _Indomitable_ to EGG-1, do you read me over?"

Just then, the screen flicked on and Andsworth was staring right into the mirrored glasses of Dr Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik. "Oho, what's this? The Earth admiral coming to chat with little old me? I'm flattered." Andsworth frowned. Nothing was worth this, not even 50 dollars an hour. "Hello, doctor." Andsworth said through gritted teeth. "Admiral Gerome Andsworth." Eggman responded. "I assume you called for my help." "Now why would you assume that?" Eggman scoffed and tugged at his ginger brown moustache. "Well, you are calling and you aren't threatening me with any gigantic weapon." "Again, what made you assume that?" Andsworth said with a smile behind his moustache.

Over the Earth more than five thousand miles away, Eggman paled. True, he had an army of continuous robots, but the _Indomitable_ had three Magnetic Accelerator Cannons, thousands of missiles, and powerful warheads. "I can come over there and visit if you like." Andsworth told the doctor. "I can take a hint, baldy." Robotnik said. "Look who's talking!" Andsworth shot back. "ALRIGHT!" Eggman yelled. "You called me and demand information and you will not leave me alone until I cough up, right?" Andsworth nodded. "That's the plan." Robotnik sighed. "All right, you have me outnumbered and outgunned. What do you want to know?" Andsworth grinned. "We want to know what killed these men, doc." The vid was sent over. Eggman used his mouse and opened the file.

Eggman watched silently as the file opened. The video was dated about a day or two ago. Two soldiers walked out of their transport and up to a wrecked fighter plane. Inside was the runt, Tails with a bump the size of Texas on the top of his skull. A fair bit of the cockpit was covered with blood. Where was the pilot? Tails was in the back. He could not have flown the plane by himself. The marines came and shook him awake. After asking a few questions, they asked him to get aboard their transport. The lead marine, a Sergeant, probably staff, ordered the Corporal who was filming to follow him into a building. There was a night vision filter activated and there was a creature. Eggman had seen this creature before. It made his moustache curl just looking at it. The giant xenomorphic creature slithered up and raised its scythe-like claw. It plunged into the Corporal's chest and made blood fly everywhere. The Corporal even looked down in shock. Seeing the blood, he fell forward. A rock bashed the camera and the video feed was lost.

Eggman took off his glasses and wiped them on his shirttail. "I never want to see those things again." Andsworth was satisfied. "So, you have information for us?" Robotnik nodded. "Indeed yes. I do have some intelligence on the matter." He paused for dramatic effect. "In my travels of Unknown Space, I have tripped across many civilizations. Your Universe is full of surprises. Just the other week…" "GET ON WITH IT!" Andsworth said impatiently, knowing that the information was high value to the lives of his men. "Alright, Alright. These particular creatures you seek are called Zerg."

"Zerg?" Andsworth said. "That's it? Is 'Zerg' short for something?" Eggman shook his baldhead. "No, that's just their name. Zerg. Frightening creatures. They're able to survive in vacuum since they don't appear to breathe oxygen. We don't know if they even need to breathe." Andsworth nodded. "Go on." "As you might've noticed, they have scythes, or sickle-like hands. Their faces look like skulls. Frightening. They don't have noses, or any we can see. The smaller ones are knows as Zerglings, the smallest combat caste. The only smaller Zerg is a larva and I wouldn't be worried about them. They also have a command caste." "Really, what?" "Its called an 'Overmind' its basically the command cast of the Zerg Caste System. Which can be compared to a Caste Pyramid. The Overmind can't fight, but it can send commands to the Lower Castes. The units responsible for creating the Zerg larvae are known as Queens." "Just like an ant colony?"

"Very good, admiral." Eggman said with a hint of praise in his voice. "Apparently, the Queen can fight, and I daresay that there's at least a few in the city." Andsworth was trying to take this all in. "Anything else?" "Oh yes, they fly too." "Fly, that all you got for me?" "I'm afraid that I don't have that information. Final word of warning, Watch out for the Ultalisks." "What are those?" "I'm afraid that I don't know what they look like. I only heard they look like a more powerful Hydralisk." "Alright." Andsworth said. "I imagine that there's a catch after you told us all that information." "As a matter of fact, yes." "Get on with it." The admiral said. "I want amnesty." Andsworth shook his head and laughed slightly. "If I could list all of your crimes, that wouldn't be physically possible." "Next best thing, then." "What is it?" "I want a ten-day head start." "Just that?" Andswoth inquired. "That's all. Then you can come and try to find me again. I daresay I'll have to cover my tracks better this time." Eggman said. "Alright, it's done. Now, get out of my sight." He said. Eggman managed to get a few words out before Andsworth killed the channel. "I forgot to mention another alien race that happens…" But then the channel snapped off.

Eggman then stared at a blank screen. "…to be very destructive. Oh it's useless." He went back to his captain's chair and checked robot status. "At least I won't be here when they vaporize the atmosphere. Its their asses."

"Sir?" Braden said, her eyes wide. "What is it, Sue?" Andsworth asked her Mobian Lieutenant. "I think Eggman was about to tell us some more information." "If he was, it would probably be meaningless. We have all the information we need. Now get back to work, Sue." Braden sighed and proceeded to run a diagnostic on a trio of Archer launch tubes. Andsworth looked out the viewport once again doubting his own thoughts.


	9. Chapter 7: Rabbit Tale

Chapter 7: Rabbit Tale 

October 3rd 3235, 0245 h

New Mombassa, Sector 15- Entertainment District

"Come on, Captain. Wake up." Carl said. Chris groaned and rose up. "What time is it, Carl?" Carl checked his watch. "Two-Forty-Five in the morning, local time." "Christ." Chris said. "I didn't know guard duty came that early." "Believe I, sir. Now, you get to watch he lifeless roads for some sign of life that threatens to destroy our entire planet. Like that'll ever happen." Carl went over to Chris's tent with a look of sleepiness in his eyes. The empty bed was right next to Sally's. _Worth a shot_. He thought. Carl only got within two feet when one of Sally's ears twitched and the nest thing Carl knew, he was staring down the barrel of the PSG-120. "Next tent buddy." She said. Carl snapped and nodded. "Yes, ma'am." Sally smiled. "Good." Carl took one last look and sped away at a speed that would've shamed Sonic. "Well, I'm up." She said to herself. She pulled on her trademark blue vest and boots. She put on some pants too, just in case.

Chris took a sip of some instant coffee. They've definitely worked out the design flaws. Chris winced ahead. It was dark, very dark. They didn't have time to pick up some NVGs on the way down so it was hard to see. But all Chris needed to do was stay awake, and watch for hostiles: A frigging breeze. Chris thought he saw a light flicker about three hundred feet away, but it was hard to see without a scope. He took his 655 and zoomed in when… "Guess who!" hands clapped over his eyes. Chris yelped and fired a suppressed shot. The carbine coughed and the bullet went into a window, showering a few marines around a fire with glass. Chris squirmed until the hands wrapped around his neck. He craned his head back to see Sally smiling mischievously. "What's up, Doc?" Chris got a little angry. "Don't do that!" he said. "Just keeping you on your toes!" Sally answered back with a wider smile. "A little more to the left and I could've blown someone's head off!" "Geez, I'm sorry!" Sally said starting to get irritated. "I'm sorry, its just, its early. I'm tired, and I just can't let this mission be jeopardized." "What, by me?" "No, that's not what I mean." Chris started to see. "I understand. No need to get mad at me, I'm…" "Shh!" Chris said.

"What's going on?" Sally asked. "Did you hear that?" The Captain asked his Mobian companion. Then it came again; a familiar screech that sounded like a banshee. "It's not what I think it is. Is it?" Chris shrugged then shut off the safety on his gun. "I don't know, but whatever it is, it should really think twice before scaring us."

Chris stalked off into the shadows with Sally beside him, wielding her .357 Python Magnum.

"I think it's getting closer." Sally noted. Chris nodded, but he didn't say anything. If the creatures were about, He didn't want them to hear the two. Both Marines walked a little further until they were only a turn of the sidewalk before they reached the light source.

Chris leaned over. What he saw changed everything about the mission.

Chris and Sally saw a small group of Terrans standing around a burning barrel. There was a parking meter next to them. Attached to the parking meter was an improvised chain. And attached to the chain was one of the tiny, quadruped creatures. It's yellow eyes fixed on the glowing barrel. The three Terrans were chatting away while the creature sharpened its claws on a piece of debris. "So how many did you kill today, Loiue?" The left Terran said. "Slippery bastards got away before I can tag one. I swear I'd sooner be dead before they get the drop on us." The middle Terran took a draft on a cigarette. "You'll have to keep up. I got 2 today." "What? That isn't anything!" The fist one said. Sally was shivering. "Come on, Chris. I can't bear this. Let me shoot him, please!" The creature raised its head and sniffed the air. "What's going on, Spike?" _Spike_? Chris thought. That was a dog's name. Were these creatures their new watchdogs? Just then, an energy buildup gave a whine. All heads turned towards a shadow in time to see a green ball of plasma burn towards the Terrans. The energy beam struck, blowing up the barrel. The plasma wash burnt the Terrans in their suits, the interior temperatures rising over a hundred and fifty degrees. The burning metal scalded the creature that had nowhere to run. It yelped a few times before it fell and died. "Whoa!" Sally exclaimed and fired off two rounds of her .357 to make sure that the creature was dead. Chris put his hand on the gun barrel and lowered it. "We don't want to give away our position without knowing what that was." Sally nodded and holstered the .357. Chris took a step forward. His boot was visible in the light, then the barrel of his 665 carbine. He turned his head left and right. Seeing as no one was there, he raised two fingers and threw them forward 'Move up'. Sally started to move forward and then they heard the clanking on steel boots. Chris aimed at the sound. It came closer and Chris, being a soldier, classified it as a threat. He squeezed off two bursts. The shots were deflected instantly. "What?" Chris said. The sound stepped into the burning light. "Hey, Sal, hey Chris. How y'all doing?" said Bunnie Rabbot.

"Bunnie!" Sally said. She ran up and embraced the cyberneticly enhanced rabbit anthro.

"How you doing, honey?" Bunnie asked her life-long friend. "Well, apart from a few bad guys, I've got it good." Bunnie turned towards Chris. "Hey there, handsome. What's up?" Chris could only smile sheepishly and make an informal salute with two fingers. "Come on, that won't do, shugah" She came close and gave him a hug. "Heh, sorry about the uh…" Chris said pointing at his gun. "Don't even worry about that. Got a new upgrade installed. Check it out!" Bunnie activated an object on her metallic wrist. A field of energy appeared around her arms. "It's Coherent air." She said. "A magnetic field keeps the air I want solidified in so I don't make the entire world solid." Chris tapped it with his finger. "Amazing. Who made it?" Bunnie smiled and pushed her hair back. "Tails did. He's a right fine genius, he is." She turned to Chris. "He wanted to talk to you, shugah. Apparently he had some valuable information." Sally said "Not to interrupt this reunion, but we need to get back to camp. Every second her places us at risk." Bunnie nodded. One of her ears flopping with it. "Sal's right. Besides I need some sleep. I can tell you everything in the morning."

They made their way back to camp. Sally stared at the tent. "There are only two beds, Bunnie." She said. Chris then said, in spite of himself, "I'll stay out here, you two get some sleep." Sally looked at him. "Chris, are you sure. I think all of us can squeeze in if we…" "I won't have any of it, Sergeant." Chris said raising a hand. "I made a promise to keep watch for about three hours and until then, I will do such. Now, Get some sleep, girls." Bunnie said. "Thanks, shugah. Real kind of you." she kissed Chris on the cheek before hurrying away. "Well, that'll wake me up." Chris said to himself. He sat on a piece of debris sipping his still warm instant coffee while the two Mobians snuggled in and fell asleep. _Well, only two hours and thirty minutes left to go!_ Chris thought.

"Sir, Sir, wake up!" Someone said shaking his shoulder. He opened his eyes. He saw Johnson in front of him sucking on a Sweet Williams. "Johnson? Its…" he checked his watch. "Nine thirty in the morning." Johnson took his cigar and pointed at it. "What? Too early?" he asked. "No, I slept on guard duty!" Chris said sitting up. "And on top of that, I OVERslept!" Johnson, sitting on a piece of debris said, "Well we all need some shut-eye. I agree that you shouldn't have, but you have been a lot of stuff since we got down here. What I don't understand is why they're attacking us and who they are." Chris took an instant coffee and nearly downed it. "Well, its safe to say that they are basically barbaric and are non-sentient since they are believe it or not, domesticated." Johnson nearly dropped his cigar. "Domesticated? Like pets?" Chris nodded and took another sip of coffee. "More or less. Me and Sal were up last night…" "Hold on, were you doing something I think you shouldn't have?" Chris narrowed his eyes. "Johnson, here's a name to take: Shutthe Hellup! Why does everyone keep assuming that?" Johnson cocked his head to one side and shrugged his shoulders. "Ok, fine. So what were you doing?" Chris tried to rack his brains to remember. "Well, I remember walking down the street and saw three Terrans chatting it up with one of those small alien watchdogs." "Wait," Johnson paused. "So you mean that the Terrans have tamed them?" "Either that, or they created them. But they seem to well organized for that. My guess is that the Terrans brought them from wherever they came from." Johnson took off his Marine cover hat and stroked his short black hair. "Keep going." Chris nodded. "After that, we saw a plasma ball the size of one of those beach balls you see on the Eridanus III west coast. Johnson whistled. Those were almost ten feet across. "The Terrans were grilled to perfection. The creature got burned to death. Guess who it was?" "Bruce Willis?" Johnson scoffed. "Very funny." Chris said smiling. "It was Bunnie!" Johnson thought. "Which Bunnie? I met a lot of Bunnies'. There was that one Bunnie I got drunk with on Loonis…" "No, no!" Chris yelled shaking his arms. "It was Bunnie Rabbot. You remember, from Mobius?" Johnson nodded. "The Cyber-Bunny? Yeah, I remember her now. Sweet girl. What's she doing here?" Chris took another sip. "Hell if I know, I was ready to drop. She said something to me about telling how she got here and that Tails had a message for me." Johnson took a drag on the cigar. "Where do you think she is now?" Chris pointed behind Johnson. "Back in the tent with Sally." Johnson choked on smoke. "In the same tent?" Chris nodded. "Yeah. Why?" "WHY?! I've been frozen in a cryotube for 600 years, dammit! I haven't seen pretty women in a half a millennium. Now there's two in the same tent doing heaven knows what!" "I've got millions of lives to save Johnson. I don't want to hear that." "But…" "That's final, Sergeant. I'll buy you a magazine back on the ship." Chris clapped Johnson on the shoulder who silently took drafts on his cigar.

Sally and Bunnie walked outside ten minutes later both dressed in informal uniform, which were light brown shirts with camouflaged pants. Bunnie could only wear the shirt and combat shorts. "Morning, girls." Chris said sitting near a fusion core that radiated heat. "Morning, Chris." Sally said sitting next to him. "Coffee? You look like you're dead walking." The captain said. "Hey thanks." The princess said and took a cup. "So, Bunnie. What was that information you were going to tell me?" Bunnie also took a cup of Instant Coffee. "I think it's been long enough." She said with a smile. "Well, I was actually on Earth before the invasion. While Chris was on the mend, I took a vacation to Soleana. They're such wonderful people, y'know. They like Mobains." Chris nodded signaling for her to continue. "A few days after the invasion, there was an impound quarantine put on the entire city. No shuttles could land or take off so I was stuck on Earth. Despite that, everything was going quite well actually. All things were moving at the pace it normally would. That's when the fat bastard Eggman showed up." "Bet he crashed the party." Sally said with a chuckle. "The hell he did, girl!" Bunnie yelled. "He torched my favorite mall in the city with a missile!" Chris shook his head. "Terrible." He really didn't understand the connection between females and shopping centers, even after the publication of A.M. Leng's _Exploring the Female Mind_ in 3210. "So at that moment. My hero Sonic swooped in and killed the robot that was threatening me. I swear to God if my safeties weren't on I would've taken it out myself. So then he said to me…"

"Bunnie!" Sonic said helping her to her metallic feet. "What are you doing here?" Bunnie said "I was here for a vacation. Since Mobius I decided I needed some R&R. You know what I mean, shugah?" Sonic nodded. "Yeah. We all needed a break. But you know me, my job's never done." He laughed. Bunnie looked around him. "Where's Tails?" Sonic said "He's…he's in New Mombasa on the East African Protectorate." Bunnie's eyes grew wide. "Mombasa?! That's thousands of miles away! How'd you get here so fast?"

"Oh I had some help." Sonic said pointing his thumb over his shoulder. They could hear the faint roars of C710 Longswords chasing off Eggman's fighters. "What happened to Tails, Sonic?" Bunnie asked more seriously. "When I was last with him we were going down in an err…borrowed AH-90 Hev Hawk All Purpose Fighter. We managed to take out a few Terran fighters along the way but we were shot down and we crashed." Bunnie winced. "Ouch. I hope you two boys were alright." "We were okay. You can't see it but I sent a bit of blood over the HUD." He pointed to a piece of sun-deprived skin where a gash had recently healed. "What about Tails?" "He lost a bit of blood and got quite an egg on his cranium." Sonic laughed, then continued. "But he was exhausted on the reentry. I told him to rest and I gave him a pistol to defend himself with." "You left him alone?!!" Bunnie roared at the hedgehog. "He's 13 years old! He can't survive on his own!" Relax, Bunnie!" Sonic said. "I got a message stating that evac was on its way. The Pelicans were only hours from our position. I think he might even be in orbit right now receiving the best medical treatment the UNSC has to offer." Bunnie exhaled and looked a Sonic. "Well I still don't like you leaving him out there but I trust your judgment. How's Sally, Chris, and the others?" "Sally's great. Chris, well, he died…" "WHAT?! Chris is dead?!" Bunnie said. Tiny tears began to well us. She liked him. He was a gentleman towards all Mobians. He believed in a greater peace. He could've been a role model to a ten-year-old kid. Tails even looked up to him. "But, he's OK. He got shot in the heart but doctors aren't sure how he lived. But he did!" "Wow! That's great news!" Sonic then received a beep on his ear communicator. "Sonic here." he said. "Sonic, this is Admiral Andsworth." The human on the other line said. "Oh, hey, Admiral." Sonic said. His fur turning a light red. "You defied orders." The admiral said. "If I had my way, you'd be given a court marshal and a dishonorable discharge." Sonic's ears twitched. _If he had his way_? "I hear from Intel that you're doing some fine work in Soleana. I even checked the Soliana Tourist Bureau. I think Bunnie Rabbot should be in the same city." "Yessir, she's right next to me." "Let me speak to her." Sonic took of his ear communicator. He passed it to Bunnie who had some trouble inserting it. "Bunnie Rabbot at your service, Admiral, sir." Andsworth greeted her back. "I don't believe we've ever met, Rabbot. To me however, you shall be referred to as Scarlett O'Hare, your real name. Bunnie blinked. No one knew her real name. "Yes sir. What do you need?" "I need you to deliver a message." "That's it?" Andsworth chuckled. "You make it sound as if I was making it too easy Miss O'Hare. This is the Military and we never do anything easy." Bunnie was starting not to like this. "With all due respect, sir, what's the catch?" Bunnie didn't see it, but Andsworth winced. "Miss O'Hare, your task is to go to New Mombasa and deliver a message from Corporal Miles Prower to Captain of Charlie Company Chris Vennetilli." Bunnie's eyes went wide. "Sir, I can't do that. The rumors say that New Mombasa is crawling with Terrans. I can't mosey with them again." "You can, and you will O'Hare. I'm sending a military escort: the 85th Marine "Custer" Division. About ten men will be there to accompany you to the city." "That makes me feel a little bit better. What do I have to do when I get there?" Bunnie asked. "Just tell Vennettilli that Andsworth told me to tell you to speak with Miles. Understood?" "Absolutely sir." "Very good. Stick with Chris. He's a good guy and his men will make sure you pull through. Andsworth out." The COM shut off and Bunnie handed the ear communicator back to Sonic. "Well," She said. "That's that." Sonic gave the COM a quick wipe, and then stuffed it back in his ear. "What was that about?" He asked. "I don't know. The Admiral wants me to deliver a message to Chris's Company." "Great." Sonic said with a groan. "Well, the sooner we get you out of here the better. I don't know for sure but my quills tell me that this place is about to become a war-zone. There's an airport about two klicks away from here. Wait in the center. When you see the Pelican, signal for pickup. Don't fly. The Longswords didn't mop up every single Egg Jet. Good Luck." Sonic sped away to help a woman up from wreckage. Bunnie decided to make a run for it.

Almost twenty minutes later, she came to the Soleana International Airport. The whole place was deserted. People must've evacuated hours ago. Her safeties were off since there were no civilians around. Luckily she encountered no resistance. Outside on the airstrip, she could see the faint outline of a D77TC Pelican. She aimed her arm up in the sky and shot off a giant ball of green plasma. The pilots must've seen the signal because they started to descend. Five minutes later, she had to cover her ears as the engines roared. An armored marine hopped out of the back. "Captain Saunders! 85th Marine Infantry Division!" He yelled over the Pelicans' engines. "Bunnie Rabbot! Freedom Fighter of Mobius!" Bunnie yelled back. "Yes, Admiral Andsworth told us about you. We need to get you off this island!" Bunnie couldn't help but say. "Yeah, tell me about it." Saunders motioned to the troop bay. "Alright, step inside and we'll be able to get you to a ship dock in Cairo that can bring you to Mombasa." "Why can't we fly there directly?" "Well, we've received word that New Mombasa has a couple of nasty AA turrets. We can't go that way. We can however, float you there. Now come on!" the Mobian rabbit climbed into the troop bay. Saunders climbed in and told the pilots to take off. Within minutes, Solenana City was just a small speck of lights. "How long until we reach Cairo?" Saunders took off his helmet, revealing his buzz cut blond hair. "About three hours. We can kick in afterburners after we clear the airspace."

Bunnie decided to take a nap. Three hours was along time and she needed to sleep off the destruction. She closed her eyes and slumped against the troop seat.

Three hours later, Saunders shook her awake. "Rabbot, Rabbot! We're here." Bunnie cleared her eyes. "We are?" Saunders nodded. "Don't worry. The UNSC has this place well protected." Bunnie stood up and stretched her back. She walked out. The sun had already risen. Bathing the port in soft light. Most of the humans there had never seen a Mobian before and stared in amazement. Bunnie found this uncomfortable. She didn't like people staring. Saunders led her to a sea stealth ship. "The UNS-_Daggerfall_." He said. "She is invisible to nearly all radar frequencies, can actually cloak for about thirty minutes at a time, and she carries hundreds of the Navy's finest personnel." "Is all this necessary, captain?" Bunnie asked as they boarded the vessel. "Quite, Miss Rabbot." Saunders said. "We need you to get in and we need to get out without being detected. Millions of dollars went into developing this boat for that purpose. So to answer your question, I think it is sort of necessary." Ten minutes later, the _Daggerfall_ rumbled out of port at about eighty knots. Which was very fast.

A few hours later, they had arrived in New Mombasa. The place was a wreck. It seemed that the only intact thing in the entire city was the colossal orbital elevator that stood in the center of the city. Bunnie whistled, she had never seen on of those things up close. "It extends almost a quarter of the way to the moon." Saunders said. "This is your stop." He said as the boarding ramp extended to the port. "What do I do now?" she asked. "Well, your mission still stands. I recommend you head to Captain Vennettilli's position. He heaved a backpack to her and a datapad with GPS on it. "The Captain's position is marked by a blue dot." Bunnie looked down and saw the Chris's transponder, beeping softly. "Well," Saunders said. "This is where I leave you." Bunnie's head snapped up. "That's it?" she asked. "My orders were only to bring you here. Besides, we've only got sailors here. Not enough to fight an invasion force." Bunnie nodded her head. "I understand." "Great. Good luck, Rabbot." Saunders said stepping onto the _Daggerfall_'s deck. He stepped inside, and then the ship melted from view. Bunnie looked at the expansive skyline. She transformed her arm into a cannon. "I'm on my own now." She whispered. The jets in her metal legs activated and she glided away at seventy feet.

Night fell quickly. And Bunnie was nowhere near the transponder signal. She activated a flashlight. She heard screams of unearthly creatures. "What was that?!" she asked herself, frightened. She heard footsteps and she fired at hem. Screams of men omitted from the silhouettes. She heard armor clunking and went to investigate. They were Terrans. The same type of Terrans that had invaded her homeworld. She kicked them in the head just for good measure.

It was late at night. Bunnie's flashlight had gone out by then. She had landed to continue her journey on foot. She needed to walk in order for the built in alternator to recharge the batteries for both her jets and flashlight. Just then, she heard voices. Male voices. She turned the corner, safe in the shadows. Three Terrans were standing close to a flammable barrel smoking cigarettes talking about how many humans they had killed. It was sickening. She suddenly heard more footsteps, but they weren't Terrans. She decided to focus on her enemies first. Chained to a parking meter was the most repulsive creature she had ever seen in her life. It was the size of a big dog. It had a long tail, mandibles, and two claws coming out of their backs. It looked hostile, but the Terrans didn't react. She decided to Torch them all. She drew as much power as she could from her batteries as the biggest plasma ball she had conjured flared up. She discharged the plasma into the flaming barrel. The Terrans screamed as the plasma wash burned them alive. The exploding barrel also torching the little creature. Then she heard a .357 Python discharge and sent two rounds into the creature. She knew that sound. It couldn't be. Then another figure emerged from the shadows. But this one wasn't a Terran. It was a marine. Better yet. It was Chris. She was about to step out but Chris raised his gun. He didn't know she was there. Bunnie activated a shield in her arm; barely enough to stop the two three-round bursts. Chris's mouth fell. "What?" He said in disbelief. Bunnie walked out into the light and said "Hey Sal, Hey Chris. How y'all doing?"

"So that's it, then?" Chris said. "So Sonic is alive!" Sally said. "Yeah, that's great news." Chris said rolling his eyes. "I don't know what Sonic hates about you, Chris." Bunnie said. "You look like a nice guy. I can't see anyone hating you, shugah." Chris blushed, and sat it out cleaning his rifle. Then he changed the subject. "Tails wanted to speak to me?" Bunnie nodded. "Go right ahead, Chris. He's going to burst if you don't talk to him." Chris keyed in the _Indomitable _Bridge frequency. "Velo here, Chris. What can I do for you?" Chris nodded as Jack addressed him by his name. This was perfectly understandable since a Lieutenant in the Navy was equivalent to a Marine captain rank. "Miles Prower wanted to talk to me?" Velo answered. "Oh, yeah. The admiral mentioned it one or two times. Hang on, Chris. I'm patching you in to R&D" Suddenly, a scientist answered the COM. "Research and Development Lab." He said. "What can we do for you?" Chris said "I'd like to speak to Corporal Miles Prower." "Oh, you mean Tails don't you? You're the guy he's talking about. You'd better speak to him. Like _now_." "Put him on." Chris said. Suddenly he heard the shout and the tails whirring to Tails." "Chris? Chris! Oh thank God, you're still alive!" Chris detected a sign of caffeine ingestion in his voice. "You wanted to tell me something?" "That's correct. I have important information about the mysterious creatures." Chris was fascinated. "Well, go ahead. Lay it on me." Tails spent almost thirty minutes telling them what Andsworth told him that Eggman told him.

"Are you sure?" Chris said. "You know. The UNSC and Eggman aren't the greatest friends. He could be feeding us a false lead." Over the COM, Tails was shaking his head in the R&D lab. "I don't think so. Much of his information checks out so I think we used some great persuasion to get what we need." "So these Zerg," Chris began. "We may have made a great discovery." Tails was impatient. The caffeine starting to kick in. "Well?" "The Zerg seem to have been domesticated by the Terrans." Tails was aghast. "Domesticated? This changes things. Hold on." There was typing over the ear communicator. "OK, got it in. Well, The Zergling seems to be the main caste of the Zerg 'Brood' that have been tamed by the Terran Confederacy. So far, The Hydralisks or these unknown Ultralisks don't seem to be tamed. If what Eggamn describes is true, Ultralisks may sound impossible to gain control over." "Do our objectives change?" Chris asked his Mobian friend. "Hang on… That's interesting." "What?" Tails said, "Well there has been some strange activity in the center of the city. The UAV scans show that whatever it is, its colossal, and its not mechanical." "So its Zerg." Chris pointed out. "Yes, but its huge. Easily able to cover a few football fields." Chris whistled. "That's not good. Do you have confirmation on what it is?" "We have a theory." "Love to hear it." The captain said. "Well, Eggman told us that this particular creature might be an Overmind." "Overmind? What's that, like a king?" Tails said. "Sort of, kind of. I think your best bet is to establish an RV point with the other teams. I think you might need everyone you can get." Chris nodded. "You may be right." "I usually am." Tails said smugly. "Don't make a habit of it." Chris said with a smile. "I hear from the boss that Bunnie's down there. Tell her I said hi. And ask her how Sonic's doing." Chris muted the mike and said to Bunnie, "Tails says hi. He also wants to know how Sonic's doing." Bunnie chuckled and said, "tell him that I said hi too. Sonic's doing OK." "She said hi too. Sonic's fine." Tails answered. "Great. I feel so much better. Call me if you need me. Good luck Chris." The channel snapped off.

Chris turned to his men. "OK, people. This is now a no holds barred conflict. We attack these creatures that we've identified as Zerg with full force. Dream come true, huh Ryan?" Ryan pressed a button and his bayonet spun at a remarkable speed. "You bet, Captain." "We need to transfer everything we've learned about the Zerg to the other teams sent down here." Chris took out his datapad and put all the information he had learned and sent it to the team leaders. With a push of a button, the electronic message was away in a heartbeat. "Well, All we need to do now is meet up."


	10. Chapter 8: Counterstrike

Chapter 8: Counterstrike 

October 3rd 3235, 1234h

Earth Orbit, Gyosynchronized orbit over Madagascar

TCS _Unyielding_

Fleet Commander Geralski stood before a gigantic glass viewscreen that showed the African island of Madagascar. He was waiting for a status report. Irov had heard reports that the Goliaths had come in contact with the UNSC troops. He heard the door hiss open behind him. Lieutenant Iraski walked in. "Ah, Ursula. Do you have news to bring to me?" Ursula nodded, but she did so nervously. "Why do you tremble?" The fleet commander asked his lieutenant. "I pray you do not bring bad news to me." Iraski said. "I'm afraid so sir. It seems that the marines have destroyed the Goliaths and the ground to air cannon." Geralski was stunned. Only hundreds of elite commandos could accomplish something like that. Perhaps he had underestimated the Earthers. "I don't want any more foul-ups, lieutenant." Geralski told his subordinate. "I don't care how you do it. Just bring me each and every one of their heads. You are dismissed." Ursula sighed with relief and walked outside. Geralski frowned. She was growing inefficient, useless. He would deal with her if the time presented itself.

Chris took a drink from his canteen. "Ok, we have to ration our water." Chris said. "If we don't, we'll be high and dry before the other teams hook up. So if possible, share with another trooper who needs one. My GPS tells me that we are getting closer to the center of this. Just then, Chris's datapad failed. "Great, just great." He said hitting the instrument in order to get a few more volts of juice from it. "Chris. I don't think hitting something will get it to work again. Trust me, I've tried." Bunnie said tapping her leg. Chris smiled. He then had a small tingle in the back of his mind. Was someone following them? _No way_. Chris thought. Truth be told, that's the third time he thought that on this operation. But this time, he could feel something else coming closer. He turned expecting to see something come out of the shadows. But there was nothing but black. "You alright, sir?" Rogers asked. "Yeah, Corporal. I'm fine." Chris assured him. He wasn't fine.

"I don't get it." Chris was telling his unit at dinner. "I just have a feeling that there's just so much more going on here than we know." Sally said, "I get that feeling all the time." "Yeah but this seems so much more, you know, _big_." Johnson lit a cigar. "I don't blame you. After being bitten by Zerg Rats, almost stabbed by Hydralisks, and trampled by Terrans, if you didn't go this far without getting a little bit crazy, I'd eat my rifle." "I'm not crazy, guys. I just feel a little off." "So you think there's something worse than the Terrans and Zerg combined?" Sally said. "That's exactly what he means." Said a voice behind them. It was smooth, like a blanket of powdery snow.

Everyone whirred around. All had their guns raised. Chris lowered his sight when he realized that he was aiming at what appeared to be a bat. "What the hell?" he asked. "I'd put those away if I were you. You could get in deep trouble, handsome." Chris looked at the bat and studied her more. She was almost Chris's height. She had white hair, at least on her scalp. She wore a black body glove with a titanium heart on her chest. The area above it was bare and slightly more revealing. On her feet she wore knee high steel tipped boots. She was obviously the attractive, and deadly type. "Who are you?" Chris asked. Not quite taking his finger off of the weapon's trigger. "You want to know me, sweetie." Sally then rushed in front of the captain. "Rouge!" she yelled at the bat. "Rouge?" Chris asked. He thought it might be a nickname, because rouge was a type of cosmetic the female sex wore on their lips. "Stay away from her, Chris. She'll twist you around good." Rouge laughed and walked up to Sally. "Protecting a human from little old me, Princess? What happened to Sonic? He wasn't good enough for you?" Sally then raised her Python's barrel at head level, aiming the revolver squarely at Rouge's nose. The bat stared cross-eyed at the dark hole. "Shut your damn mouth before I blow it off." She said with fire burning in her voice. "I'd watch where you aim that thing, Sally. Guns are dangerous. Didn't Mommy and Daddy teach you anything besides how to be a spoiled brat?" The revolver barrel only went deeper. "I said shut your damn mouth!" Sally yelled louder. "Don't you yell at me!" Rouge screamed, "I'll yell at whoever the hell I want to!" Sally yelled back. There was suddenly a gunshot. Both women wheeled around to see Chris holding his Desert Eagle up in the air. Its barrel smoking as a round was discharged. "That's enough! Both of you!" he yelled with more authority, and then toned it down to his quiet voice. "Now, I take it you two know each other and you both dislike, maybe even hate each other. Rouge, Why did you come and find us?" Rouge placed her gloved hand on her hips. "Tell princess powerful to put that thing away." The bat said. "Sally, holster it." Chris said. "But Chris, she's evil. She'll do whatever it takes to…" "I said holster it, soldier." Sally reluctantly obeyed. The .357 slid into the leather holster and Sally clipped the safety belt over it. He turned to face Rouge. "That better?" "Yes, yes it is. I like a powerful man." Chris waved his hand. "I don't want to hear it. You sought us out. Why?" Rouge folded her arms impatiently. "Okay, okay. Keep your fatigues on, kid." _Kid?_ "I was sent with information." "What sort of information?" "Information regarding your mission." Chris was suddenly interested. "You know of our mission?" Rouge gave a laugh. "Who doesn't know about it? Everyone in the government knows about it. Hell, even civilians know about it." Chris wanted to clarify something. "The government? You're a government agent?" "That I am, what was your name again? Chris? That'd be short for Christopher right? Nice, manly name." "Stay out of my personal life." Chris said. "Deal. Fine, Whatever." "Now, your information." Rouge nodded. "You remember the information Tails sent to you?" "Yeah. Why?" Rouge said, "There's a crucial piece missing." Chris paused in thought. "But he said…" Rouge interrupted. "He didn't tell you everything, honey. They didn't know everything. Short and sweet: There's another race you weren't told about. A more powerful race." Chris was puzzled. "Another Race? First the Terrans, then the Zerg what more could there be?" Rouge told him. "They're called Protoss." "What's a Protoss?" Sally asked. "Shut your damn mouth and I'll tell you!" She turned back to the captain. "The Protoss are the third race to be in the Tri-faction war with the Terrans and the Zerg back in their home sector known as Koprulu." "What makes them so dangerous?" Johnson asked the bat. "They are warmongers according to captured Terran prisoners." "How bad are they?" Chris asked, preparing for the worst. "Well, about a few hundred years ago when the Terrans first made contact, The Protoss reportedly attacked a planet. And by attack I mean massacred. The atmosphere was almost completely blown away and the ground was charred to the core." All the men looked at each other. "And what's worse…" Rouge said. The marines looked. "How much worse can it possibly be?" Corporal Rogers asked. "We received some strange energy fluctuations near Io. We don't like it. Two hours ago, the same energy flux occurred in high Mars orbit. Chris was now frightened again. "They're…they're coming _here_?" Rouge nodded. "That's correct." Chris just about broke down. He couldn't take it anymore. This operation was wearing him down." "How long?" Chris asked. "By calculations, they believe another flux should appear near Luna in twenty minutes. "Twenty minutes?!" Chris screamed. "Now," Rouge started. "I know it sounds intense but…" "I don't care! Twenty minutes until Earth is history. Do they even know the difference between Terrans and Earthlings?" "Chris does have a point." Sally said. "So you're smart enough to notice that, huh?" Rouge asked with a slight curl of a smile. Sally started towards her, but Bunnie held her back. "Hold on, Sally-girl." She urged her. "As I was saying!" Rouge interrupted. "I know it sounds intense but I've seen what human battle groups can do. The 7th Battle group at Constance managed to overtake and destroy ten Terran BattleCruisers with five destroyers. I bet you guys will win." Chris then said, "Do the other teams know about this?" Rouge shook her head. "You guys were my first choice. I didn't get to the others." Chris pointed a finger. "Make sure they're educated. I don't want any blind spots." Rouge nodded unfolding her wings. "Ok, I'll do that. Look after yourself, handsome. The Protoss are strong, but you guys look stronger. I'll be seeing more of you. And Sally, make sure this one doesn't run away on you. Ciao!" With that, Rouge flew away leaving Sally so red it could be seen through her fur. "You OK?" Johnson asked. "You look like you just ate a Peruvian Death Pepper." Sally turned her skull towards Johnson and without moving her teeth she said, "She makes me SO mad!" "Why?" Chris asked. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you were jealous." Sally's mouth fell open. "Jealous? Jealous!" "Uh oh." Bunnie said. "You're in for it now, Shugah."

Sally stomped up to Chris and dragged him away. "I'll be OK." Chris told his men in a hoarse voice. "If I'm not back in ten, send a search party!" Sally then stopped. "What's going on?" Chris asked massaging his neck. "You think I'M jealous of that bitch?" Chris shrugged. "Merely a speculation." Sally didn't buy it. "You think I'm jealous just because she can mystify men with just one flash of cleavage?" "No, I didn't say that I…" Sally shook a finger. "Because I'm not." Chris said, "Then why are you getting hotter than a supernova?" Sally sighed. "Its just, I don't want you to think that she's more attractive than me. I want you to like me." Chris's eyes got a little bigger. He could've sworn if there were an audience, they'd be saying '_aaawwww_'. "What?" He asked again. "If she looked more attractive, you'd think I was not." "Sally, You've got to understand. I don't like women just because they're pretty. To be honest, she pissed me off a little. I think it was her charm trying to work around me for an easy payday. I know a treasure hunter when I see one." "So," Sally started, "You don't think she's attractive?" Chris sighed. "She is attractive, but I don't like her. She just has an err…quality." "Bitchiness?"

Sally suggested. "Yeah, that'll work." Chris said smiling. "But, you. You're the only one I'm gong to love forever. That's no lie." Sally smiled widely. "Thank you, Chris. That was real sweet of you." She said and kissed him on the cheek. "Feel better?" Sally nodded. "Best since I landed down here. Lets go back now."

Some marines noticed that their water bottles were empty. "That's not good." Stacker said. "What's going on, Remus?" Chris asked. "Well, water supply is bone dry. That's for sure. We have enough food to last us a few more days, but without water, it's like trying to walk up a down escalator." Johnson gave a _hmph_. "Please, we're Marines. We don't need water. We're better than water." Carl said. "But you're worse than my mother." He said in a whisper. Chris clapped his shoulder. "Try and hold out, buddy. We're not far from the RV point."

Sally and Bunnie met while the other marines discussed the water problem. "What went on back there, girl?" Bunnie asked her friend. Sally only smiled. "He just makes me feel so good. Not just about him, but about myself too." Bunnie asked. "Do you really like him?" Sally looked at her. "Of course I like him. I love him. I love him with all of my heart." Bunnie actually looked a little suspicious. "What?" Sally asked Bunnie. "You're serious about this relationship then." Sally nodded. "Ever thought about Sonic?" Sally then frowned. What _would_ happen when Sonic found out that his _former_ girlfriend actually liked the human? "Sal, I just want you to make sure that you know what you're doing. Chris nearly died before. What happens when he doesn't come back?" Sally began to tear up. "Please, don't say that, please don't." Bunnie said, "I won't doubt that Chris is strong. Hell, he is also one of the cutest humans around. But Chris does lead a dangerous life. Every day is a risk to him. Remind you of anyone?" Actually it did. "Reminds me of Sonic." Bunnie nodded. "It's starting all over again." "Bunnie, I'm just scared for him in this whole war. He loves me so much he'd give his life for me. I don't want to lose him." "That's the fear of every relationship, Sal. I'm not the bad guy. I just want you to be happy." Sally scoffed. "Well thanks a lot." Bunnie walked away a little depressed. Just then, Chris thought he saw something strange in the sky. "What the hell is that thing?" Bensati asked.

Up in space, Velo noticed that there were strange energy fluctuations. "Sir, You'd better take a look at this." Andsworth looked on the radar and saw a ship hull he was definitely not familiar with. "Uh, Velo?" the admiral said, "Can you scroll through the UNSC silhouette database?" "OK, sir." Velo said booting up the program. "Any specific search categories?" "Try Covenant." Andsworth told Jack. Destroyers, Flagships, Frigates, Assault Carriers…nothing. "Sir. This shape doesn't match any ship in our Covenant databases." Andsworth was still suspicious. "Try Mobians. Max is probably researching some new chassis designs." Again, a zero. The human admiral was starting to get impatient. "Try the minor alien races. The Korrids, Garim, Pocaknek, Datonians, anyone!" Velo tried each one. The insect like Korrids, the Garim "Thunder Monkies", the Porcaknek or "big lizards", even the avian Datonians. Nothing matched." "What the hell are these things?" Velo started to sweat. "It doesn't look Zerg, sir." "I don't like it. Try to establish a connection. I want to talk to whatever controls that thing." Velo took a while stumbling on some keys. "Ok, we're connected."

"This is Admiral Gerome Andsworth of the UNSC _Indomitable_. Do you read us?" There was static and then the video screen turned on. There appeared to be a creature Andsworth had never seen before. It chatted in its own language. It didn't appear to have a mouth. Its eyes were mellow yellow. Andsworth jumped back at the image. "What is that thing?" The creature then spoke. "Why do you pester us, Terran?" it said with a drawling voice, like a mechanical voice. "I don't understand." The creature then said, "You cannot deceive us. We recognize the face of our enemies from across the galaxy itself. Adun could see past your tricks and so could we." "Who the hell is Adun?" Another voice interrupted. This one sounded younger. "Please, your excellency, these creatures may not be Terrans." "Ashoa, be silent." The alien said to the voice. "Your pal is right." Andsworth said to the alien who appeared to be running the show. "I'm Admiral Gerome Andsworth of the UNSC starship the _Indomitable_. I was born on this planet called Earth by its inhabitants, Earthlings." "Excellency," Ashoa said. These 'Earthlings' may be correct. There are no Terran worlds that have been discovered in the vicinity of this sector, and even if there were, they would be infested already. This planet looks like it is just started to fall to the Zerg." The commander sighed and looked at Andsworth. "Very well, Earthling, I believe you. I am Zarok, I am the master of my vessel. I hail from the Protoss world of Aiur, our species' home." "Protoss?" Andsworth said, thinking back.

"_There is also a race that is…_" A voice in the back of him mind said. Andsworth slapped his head. If he had kept the COM open for a few more seconds, he could've learned about the Protoss. "You'll have to forgive me, I didn't learn much from our source of intelligence, A Doctor Eggman?" At once, Zarok flared up. "I never want to hear that obese demon's name spoken in front of me again. The 'Doctor' is vile. He wanted to siphon Aiur's Vespine gas for an unknown reason. Probably to power a military might." Andsworth asked. "So what did you do with him?" "We simply tossed him back into his ship and we gave him an escort who would deliver some 'required' discipline while he exited our system." "Well, unfortunately, the Doctor is on this planet." Zarok then said angrily, "Better what will happen to him after we do our part." Andsworth cocked an eyebrow. "What would that be?" "Why, we'll drive off the infestation." Andsworth was delighted. "Fantastic! And how will you do that?" "It cannot be simply explained. You will have to see." A video snapped up as an infested planet appeared. The planet was a dark tinge of red. A fleet of Protoss ships aligned around the planet. Soon, they all fired energy weapons. They cut through the atmosphere. When they hit the ground, lands baked and oceans burned. After half an hour of firing, the entire planet was a floating, dead, ball of rock. Its entire surface reduced to glassy crust. If any atmosphere remained, it was very, very thin. The planet was, needless to say, incapable of supporting sentient life. Andsworth was shocked. "That's it?" he stuttered. "I'm afraid so, human. That is the most effective way to rid a planet of its infestation. If we do not proceed, a single Zerg might escape and survive to create another infestation." "But that's so, so…inhumane." Zarok chuckled. "Precisely." "But…that's home to over a trillion people!" "That's all the better. If we eradicate now, we can save much more lives, Human and Protoss." "What about other species?" "Many of them have chosen an unfortunate time to evolve. They are not technologically advanced enough to grasp space travel and are trapped, mere animals." "But we're not!" Andsworth said. "I have men down there trying to sort out the problem. Can you just give us time?" "Why should we trust you?" Zarok said. "We have not fired on you. We can still retain a peaceful friendship. And we both want to see the Terrans away from here, right?" Zarok sighed. "How many men have you on the surface?" Andsworth said, "We started with about a hundred. Now we have about ninety. Give or take a recent addition or two." Zarok then said, "Even that is not enough to destroy the Overmind. I trust your judgment, admiral so I will send my strongest warriors available to aid your men." Andsworth considered. "Wait, aren't the men going to shoot your warriors on sight?" "I have not considered that, human. I suggest you send word to your men at once." "Understood." Andsworth said. He turned to Velo. "Lieutenant, send a message to all the commanders of the teams sent down. We have new allies. They are called the Protoss and warriors are being sent to aid in the attack. This Overmind is going down and it's going down hard. This is now an official counter-strike. And Earth's not going down without a fight.


	11. Chapter 9: Forging Alliances

Chapter 9: Forging Alliances 

October 4th 3235, 1428 h

District 10- Residential Quarter D, New Mombasa

"Alright, Now that we've solved our water problem, let's continue on our trip." Chris said. The water was divided equally and it was to be rationed. Just then, Chris thought he saw something strange in the sky. "What the hell is that thing?" Corporal Binsati asked. "I don't know corporal." The captain said. He was looking up at a giant ship, which was easily visible in low Earth orbit. It was long like a Mobian ship, but it had no dorsal fins like the Mobian Space Yards put on their craft. Sally came up. "Uhh, Chris?" the human turned to her. "What is that thing?" Chris shook his head. "I don't know. Johnson!" The sergeant turned. "You ever see a ship like that?" sergeant Johnson shook his head. "Nope, not ever." He turned to the princess. "Sally, Is that one of your father's new chassis?" Sally shook her head. "Dad didn't say anything about new ships." Then he turned to the one man in the squad who knew much of what was happening. "What about you, Logan?" "I have." He turned looking at the ship. "That's a Protoss assault ship. They never travel alone so there must be more. "The Protoss?' Chris asked scared. "Well, that's it, game over." Carl said. "Shut up, Santorini." Johnson said. "Is it strong?" Ryan asked. Logan nodded. "They all have shields. They're tough to punch through so short of a nuclear strike, nothing's getting through to that thing." "How many troops do they carry?" Logan shrugged. "Don't know. Never actually seen a roster." "So how do we kill it?" Chaz said. "Well, considering that we 86'd the Air Defense turrets, the only way that's going down is if someone upstairs plugs it." "Well, maybe Andsworth can talk to it." Stacker said looking up to the ship. The sun gleamed off of it and could blind anyone who directly looked at the gold armor. "Thankfully, the Protoss speak English, but I doubt they'll be in the mood to talk. If they keep him alive for a few minutes, that would be a miracle."

A marine head a noise. "Sir, there's a noise back there." He said hooking his thumb over his shoulder. "I know, Lance Corporal. I heard it too. Ryan, Sally. On me." Three marines moved toward the sound in the shadows. A blue blade appeared in the darkness. A creature came out of the shadows. The marines started to fire. But the shots were instantly deflected. The marines continued to fire. The creature raised the blade and sliced through Ryan's 665. "Enough!" It screamed. Ryan stumbled and stared at his useless carbine. He tossed the rear half away and retrieved his second rifle from his backpack holster. The guns were still raised but no one fired. " Do not fire on me. I mean no harm towards you." The creature spoke from a face that sported no mouth. But its eyes flashed sometimes. Their golden radiance slightly chilling." Chris stepped forward after turning his safety on. "Are you…Protoss?" The creature nodded. "Indeed I am. I am Haalos. I am a Protoss warrior and I am 355 human years old." Chris was surprised. Humans generally lived to about two hundred years on average. Mobians to a minimum of two hundred and twenty. This Protoss was three hundred and a half years old and sounded like he was a twenty year old. "I see by your looks that you do not believe my age. Protoss may live to be a thousand years old, if not more. I am still considered 'young' for my race." "Fascinating. If only Tails were here." "Who?" "That's not important." Chris said. "You came from the ship above?" Haalos nodded. "Indeed. I arrived with several members of my clan as well. Three of them are down here. Daalos and Aalos." "Your clan?" Chris asked. "They are my brothers." Haalos said. "Why did you came and find us?" Sally asked. "Executor Zarok sent us to aid you in your quest to slay the Overmind." "Executor?" Johnson asked. "Our leader." Haalos explained. "Oh. Very thoughtful of him." Johnson said lighting up a cigar. "Consider yourself fortunate, humans. Zarok could've disinfested this planet hours ago." "Can we change the subject please?" Haalos nodded. "Agreed. I apologize for attacking you. It's just, the only humans I have ever met were Terrans and they attacked us on sight. You humans are…different." Chris nodded and said, "We apologize for attacking you Haalos. The past few days haven't been kind to us." Haalos nodded. "I understand your condition. Prolonged fights against the Zerg have often yielded deterioration of the mind." Chris sighed. "I haven't been feeling myself lately. I've done some things I'm not proud of." "Yeah, like to me." Ryan said. He opened his mouth to show where Chris had socked him and knocked out his tooth." Haalos then said. "At least you didn't have an energy blade with you." Haalos flicked his wrist to reveal a blue triangle of energy and sliced through a stop sign. The blade bisected he sigh efficiently and near silently." "Yeah, that could've done more damage." Chris said obviously. Haalos then stared into space. "What's wrong?" Sally asked the Protoss warrior. "My brothers are in danger!" Haalos cried. "We must depart now!" Chris shrugged. "Do as he says, guys." The entire unit fell into run behind Haalos. Chris received a beep on his now functioning datapad. It featured a typed message about the Protoss from Admiral Andsworth. "Great, now he tells us." Chris said stuffing it into his backpack.

107th Helljumper Division leader Shane Kanow fired his 665 on burst setting, his 5.56mm rounds peppering a Hydralisk into oblivion. His HUD showed that there was one behind him. He grabbed his Mark VII CANARMS Ontario Combat knife in its sheath. Kanow's hand swept backwards and he created a gash in the advancing Zerg's left side. The monster screamed loudly then was silenced by a three-round burst. Shane looked over a bunch of debris hoping to see help come, then turned to cap a few advancing Zerglings. Staff Sergeant Higgins of Third Squad ran up to Kanow. "Captain, can you trust in what the Protoss said? Can you be sure that the missing 182nd marines are coming?" "Higgins, I happen to trust Chris Vennettilli. He saved my life once. I KNOW he'll come." Higgins shrugged and fired a 000 slug out of his SPAS 24 Semi Auto shotgun. The pellets caught a Hydralisk in the head and blew it off. The blood spurted and caught Higgins in the faceplate. "Aw Jesus Christ!" Higgins cursed. "I just got my goddamned helmet waxed!" Kanow laughed as the Staff Sergeant tried to clean his faceplate. "Looks good on you Alvin!" "_Falken izu_!" Higgins said in the dialect of his homeplanet Constance. Shane decided to overlook the curse and sprayed the advancing Zerg with bullets. One rather strange ODST unorthodoxly tore a M114 LAAG off of the back of a Warthog and needed a buddy to hold onto the heat shield to keep it from flying away with recoil. Suddenly, they heard wings flapping. The Protoss, Aalos screamed "Mutalisk!" "What the hell?" Kanow asked. The wings grew louder. Suddenly, a creature that looked like a giant bat of Danntooine except with a mouth-like cannon on its tail flew in. From the cannon, it belched an object reminiscent of a ninja throwing-star out. The object flew and caught an ODST in the faceplate. Kanow couldn't see the blood, but he knew the inside was almost flooding with it.

Dozens of more Mutalisks swarmed in. Kanow heard a _click_ and knew that a reload was needed. He released its clip and it fell to the road. He reached onto his belt to find a reload, but there was none. He desperately felt his magnetic bands on his back for an extra, no dice. He had used up all of his rifle grenades too. "Shit!" he cursed. "Higgins, you have a reload?" He called. "I just loaded in my last mag. "Shit, shit, shit!" he kept cursing. "Where in God's fucking name are you, Chris?" Aalos and Daalos turned their heads. "They approach." Aalos said. Shane could leave himself feeling relieved.

"Shane!" a voice yelled. Kanow craned his neck to see Chris standing in the sun. Just like an action movie. Kanow waved his hand and Chris ran down to meet him "Jesus, man, am I frigging glad to see you, sweetheart!" "Don't sweat it, Helljumper." Chris said shaking his hand and patting his shoulder. "Heard you got a rodent problem." Chris said pointing to the Mutalisks. "I got a team of exterminators on station. Want me to send them in?" Kanow smiled. "Naturally." Chris gave a sharp whistle. Johnson vaulted over a piece of debris. Carl, Lance, and Chaz followed. Bunnie and Sally came together. Logan accompanied the other marines, which were lead by Stacker. "Whoa." The white sergeant said shielding his eyes. "Those are some ugly birds." "Those are Zerg, Sergeant Stacker." Remus nodded. "I knew that, boy. Let's just kill 'em." The marines hosed down the Mutalisks with concentrated fire, conserving ammo and dealing punishment. One by one, the avian Zerg screeched and fell where they collided and crumbled on the roads. Almost an hour passed when the final Mutalisk was defeated, then a roar broke out. Kanow and Chris turned their heads to see a gigantic creature come from a side street. It was nearly fifty feet high and looked like an elephant. Only the tusks were scythes. "Ultralisks!" Haalos yelled. "Ultralisks?" Chris repeated. "Immensely powerful Zerg that tend to wipe out their prey using either their tusks or their feet." Then, the Ultralisk charged. "GET DOWN!" Chris ordered the troops.

The marines dug in and fired their rifles. The Zerg was about a few feet away when the leaped sideways to avoid its feet. "Ryan!" Chris yelled. "Stick that son of a bitch!" Ryan took out a few Adhesive Grenades. He primed them and, using the stick below the detonator, threw it at the Zerg where it stuck on its hide. The grenades exploded and the Ultralisk sent a cry of pain. Enraged, it charged again. It halted above Ryan and before it could swipe, it screeched again. Haalos and his brothers hacked at the Ultralisk with their energy blades. The Ultralisk swiped its claws and connected with Daalos. The Protoss warrior gave an explosive exhale and was flung away, the armor encasing his body protecting him from the claws. Daalos impacted on debris and the impact broke his spine.

His two brothers went to join him. "Keep firing!" Chris said. All the marines fired until their clips were empty. The Ultralisk didn't know what to do with all the humans firing at it. Suddenly, the creature reared up, gave a huge roar, and then fell down dead. The Marines cheered and fired three-round bursts into the carcass. "Captain!" Haalos called. Chris and Shane walked towards the trio of Protoss. "Is Daalos alright?" Shane asked. "Adun has surly blessed him. Were it not for luck, Daalos would be dead. But he cannot fight." Daalos looked at his brothers. "That was…unpleasant." The Protoss laughed. "Brother, you are alright then?" Daalos tried to stand up, but his injury wouldn't allow it. "I've been better." The Protoss said through pain. "I will need time to heal." Haalos nodded. "Very well. I shall inform Executor Zarok that you will need medical attention."

A few moments later, a blue light surrounded the injured Protoss. He was taken apart, molecule by molecule and brought to the Protoss carrier. "He's going to be OK?" Shane asked the Protoss. "He will recover, but he cannot rejoin us. That meeting with the Ultralisk was not what we expected. They have been known to destroy many warriors and Terrans. Like we said, that encounter was unexpected. We were lucky to get away with one injured Protoss." Chris checked his datapad to see if it was working. Still no luck." "How much farther to the Overmind?" Haalos looked at Chris, his yellow eyes meeting the Human's green ones. "Over a day at our pace. We should rest." Chris agreed. "Best idea anyone had all day."

At a campfire at 2123 hours local time, the marines needed a plan. "The Overmind is large, human. Larger than anything we've ever seen." Haalos explained. "There have been many rumored in the past, almost impervious to any type of attack." Aalos finished.

"But there's gotta be some way to defeat it." Sally said. "We know of no way." Haalos said. "Well, Sal, we'll find some way." Bunnie comforted her friend. "Ryan," Chris asked. "Hmm?" the weapons specialist answered. "Got anything in that pack that'll make a big boom?" Ryan smiled. "'Boom' is my middle name, Captain." He tilted the bag, spilling its contents: Two pistols, twelve clips for them, a M5A1 Semi Auto Carbine, half a dozen clips for those, three grenades, two health kits, a Girls Gone Wild VDISC… "Can I borrow that when you're done?" Johnson asked. "Focus, Avery." Chris said. While the marines looked through the Corporal's pack, Haalos was questioning Sally. "In all of my long years, I have never encountered a race such as yours. What do you call yourselves?" "Well, Haalos," Sally addressed the Protoss. "We call ourselves Mobians. We hail from the planet Mobius." "I was not aware such a planet existed." Sally shrugged, "Technically it doesn't. Its in another universe." "Is it now?" Haalos said intrigued. "I hope after our job, we can visit this planet of yours. You describe it as such a nice place." "That'd be good. We never get new races very much in our parts." "FOUND IT!" Ryan yelled holding up a small rectangular piece of metal with dials and buttons on it.

"Cool!" Carl said, "What is it?" "Idiot," Ryan began. "It's a fire transmitter beacon." "What does it do?" Chris asked. "Its sort of an orbit to ground bombardment 'bull's-eye' you could say. It tells one or more ships where exactly to fire on a orbit to ground bombardment." "What strings are attached?" Chris asked. "Well, we need to set it up manually. We have to plant it on that thing and set it off." "Lovely." Johnson growled and sucked on a cigar. "Wait," Chris said, "What if we can't plant it? What if it has too many minions or if it has weaponry?" "We have to try." Ryan said.

Half an hour later, Chris got into bed. It was warm. The military actually made duvets for soldiers in rough environment. The geese feathers supported Chris's weight. The captain nearly closed his eyes when a scream rang out. It was a Zerg voice, but it was far away with no chance of reaching them. The humans had good security, provided that the Protoss didn't seem to go to sleep. Just then, the tent doors zipped open. Chris reached for his Desert Eagle when he recognized the shadow. "Hi, Chris." The shadow said. "Sally." Chris yawned. "What time is it?" Chris rubbed his eyes, "What do you need?" Sally said, "Well, I've been hearing the frightening voices in the city, its just, I'm scared. Can I sleep here?" Chris sat up with a start. "You're scared?" Sally got angry. "I am if you want to make an issue of it." Chris raised his palms in defense. "I didn't mean that. Sure you can sleep here. There's only one bed though. I can go on guard duty." Sally then said, "No, I think one is fine." Chris was wide-awake now. Before he could say anything, another scream broke out, followed by hundreds more. Sally quickly kneeled beside Chris and hugged him tightly." "I hate them! I hate them so much!" she said on the verge of tears. "Its OK, Sally. I'm here." Chris said. "Lets get some sleep, you and me. I'll be right here." Sally nodded and slipped into the bed. She didn't take off her vest or uniform, just slipped in and closed her eyes. "I'm glad you're with me. You promise you won't leave me?" Chris smiled. "Not a chance, Sal." Sally smiled and snuggled close to the human. She felt him recoil slightly at her touch. Sally's warm chest fur brushed against Chris's side. He could feel her now-relaxed heart beating softly. "Good night Chris. I love you." She said just before she dozed off. Chris shuffled slightly. The three words just haven't stuck yet. He ruffled her hair and kissed her on the head. "I love you too, Sally. You're going to be OK. You're with me." He said and wrapped his arm around her into a soft hug. The Mobian relaxed to his touch. Chris closed his eyes and began to sleep.

Almost half an hour later outside, a marine decided to go for a smoke. The man walked into a back alley almost fifty feet away from the camp and lit a cigarette. He puffed on it and looked down the dark alley. The smoke rose in misty curls. He didn't hear the Zergling approach. The little creature bent its legs and prepared to pounce. The Zergling jumped onto the marine and instantly bit into the man's neck. A chemical in the teeth paralyzed the victim while another chemical flowed into the bloodstream that contained Zerg DNA. This was a virus of sorts that would assimilate the victim into the Zerg. The entire process was silent and the only ones who noticed anything were the rats in the gutters, confused by what was happening. The Zergling ran off, content that it had fulfilled its duty.

The marine grew inhuman. Its face distorted by the Zerg DNA. He grew claws on his body and the Zerg DNA made him strong. When the process was completed, the marine looked less human and more Zerg. He had a mental link to the Overmind too. "Rise my son." It whispered to him. "Rise, Private Connel." The Overmind whispered to Connel's mutated brain. "I hear you, my father." His voice rasped now that the Zerg had mutated his vocal cords and speech center of the brain. "What is your purpose, Connel?" the Overmind asked the mutated Marine. "To serve you, father." "Good, very good. But for now, gather your brothers, we must strike with a vengeance. The humans plan to harm me, and that I cannot allow." "I understand, father." "Go now, my son. Do as you are commanded!" The Overmind ordered. Connel walked with a slight limp away, checking to see if his pistol was loaded.

Chris heard things in his head: A voice stating things clearly, addressing them to many creatures. It made the captain toss and turn slightly. Sally had noticed this and opened her eyes. "Chris, what's wrong?" Chris opened his eyes. "Sally. I'm hearing things. I don't like what I'm hearing. It's like a nightmare." "Chris, don't say that. It makes me scared. Come on; let's get back to bed." She said changing the subject. Chris decided to accept the offer. His head settled on the cushion. Sally draped her hands across his chest. And caressed his face. The human instantly relaxed. "Relax, kid." Sally cooed. Chris closed his eyes. Sally snuggled close to her boyfriend's body to share his body heat. She sighed in satisfaction but was feeling a little warm. The princess slipped off her vest full of ammo and was left with a dark T-shirt. She also took off her pants, which left a pair of tight shorts on with a little hole in the back for her tail to go through. "Just relax, Chris. Nothing can beat us. After this, we're going to go on vacation and we're going to have a good time." Chris muttered subconsciously, "I'd like that." Sally chuckled and kissed Chris on the cheek. "Go to sleep, Chris. Go to sleep." And he did. Sally closed her eyes and fell asleep next to her love.

Chris heard the voice again all night.


	12. Chapter 10: Overmind Overmatter

Chapter 10: Overmind Overmatter 

October 6th 3235, 0538 h

New Mombasa, Kenya

Residential Section 2 (5 klicks from the Space Elevator)

Chris bristled as Sol rose quite early, the sunlight poking at his retinas. Chris turned his head to see Sally's arms over his chest and her face just centimeters from his. Chris said, "Hey." Sally opened her eyes and smiled. "Morning, handsome." She said smiling. She yawned and sat up. She had stripped out of her pants into shorts. The captain shook after seeing how tight they were. "How did you sleep?" Chris asked. "Not well actually." Sally said. "I heard voices last night, inside my head. Chris then said, "So did I." Sally nodded as she slipped on a clean shirt and clipped on her combat vest. "Yeah I know. Maybe Haalos or Logan can clear things up."

Outside, some of the marines were awakened by the sun rising. With the darkness subsiding, Chris could see the monstrous space elevator stretching into the heavens as far as the eye could see. "Wow." Sally said as she exited the tent. "I've never been this close to that thing before." Johnson was sitting on a crate eating a UNSC freeze-dried food bar. "What the hell do they put in this stuff? We had actual food when I joined the Corps. What's this? 'Pork Liver?'" Chris chuckled, "The UNSC wanted to maintain a profit as well as keep soldiers alive so they gave us food bars filled with replicated flavors and nutrients while they pocket the cash." Johnson tossed the bar away. "What a load of malarkey." He growled and lit up a cigar. Chris and Sally sat down and made some food for breakfast. The other marines started to awaken in their own tent areas that separated Division from Division. Bunnie came out a few minutes after them. "Wow, sun sure rises early down in these parts." "Sure do." Ryan said. "Around 5:00 is dawn here. 9:00 is about sunset." Haalos and Daalos stood though. "Have a seat, guys." Chris said. The Protoss looked at each other then, reluctantly sat down. "What's the matter?" Haalos spoke. "I don't find it very pleasing that we have to sit down in a combat zone, Captain." "Relax, boys." Chris said. We set up thermal detection gear and IFF cannons just before we went to sleep, plus we have you guys." "There was a problem last night, Captain." Daalos said. "Why? What happened?" The 107th called out attendance. "Balkus?" Kanow called. "Present!" "Connel?" No reply. "Connel?" Kanow called again. "Where's Connel?" He asked.

"That was the problem." Haalos said. "A soldier went out for what you humans call 'cigarettes'. He left for half an hour. He never returned." Sally gasped. "You think he's dead?" "Worse." "What could be worse for Gawd's sake?" Bunnie asked. "He may have been assimilated." Daalos said dramatically. "Assimilated?" Haalos nodded. "The process when a sentient being is infected by a Zerg and is mutated into an Infested organism; namely an Infested Marine. "That's terrible." Sally said. "It is a fate worse than death." Daalos said. "Did he forget who he is?" Johnson asked. He had all the right. He was experiencing the Flood all over again. His luck with Boren's Syndrome saved his life on Halo, but he doubted that plasma radiation could save him from the Zerg. "No, human. What sort of question is that?" Haalos said with an amused laugh. "He had a run in with a parasitic race known as the Flood." Chris explained. "The Flood now? I was unaware any were still alive. I think they died out nearly a hundred years ago, were they not, brother?" Haalos asked. "A.D.D." Chris reminded. "I apologize." Haalos said. "Connel will keep his memories but the Zerg will have perverted him into a creature bent on spilling human blood. It is our unfortunate duty to end his suffering." "You mean kill him?" Kanow asked as he came to the group. "Sorry. I couldn't resist." The ODST said. "That is exactly what we mean. Connel possesses more than enough information to aid the Zerg in infesting this planet. Location of specific structures, unit formations, major cities, basically the 'world on a silver platter', as you humans say." Haalos said. " Then we have to stop them before any more information is divulged." Lance said. "Precisely." Daalos said. "OK, lets move out."

Up in space, Andsworth was pacing on the bridge. "They're getting close now." He told his chief scientist Corporal Miles Prower. "I don't like this." Tails said, "I know that Chris and his squad can get through. ODSTs are tough like nails. Captain Kanow is more than a match for any alien creature." "Captain Kanow can deal out a share of whoop ass, Chris is a god among officers, Sally Acorn is trained in seven martial art disciples, but WHAT GOOD IS THAT AGAINST THE ZERG?" he yelled. His lieutenants looked around. "Miles, we didn't choose his battle, it was forced upon us. We didn't choose where to fight. We were caught off guard. We didn't train against this. The point I'm trying to make is that's why things are looking so grim." Tails hung his head. "We can't just give up. We need more time. I can't let this planet get glassed. I love it here. It's a technological marvel. You can't because you were born here. We need to give them a chance. They are still alive. You do know that, right?" Andsworth sighed. The kid was right. He couldn't just end it. He needed to give them a chance. "Lets take our minds off the subject. Lets have a drink." Tails perked up. "Sure!" "What'll it be? Brandy, Whisky, Alarian Long Island?" "I'm 13 sir." Tails said. "Juice it is then!" Andsworth said. Tails smiled and licked his lips. He shouldn't be this nice to him. But he was. His son was 35 and was married with children on Constance. The kid was the closest thing he had to a nephew on the ship. Andsworth looked out of the viewport. He just _hoped _the Captain was sluggin' it out there.

"Man, this is not looking good." Sally said after an hour of walking. "What the hell is that stuff?" she said pointing to a goo-like substance. 'Pee Yew! It smells like old socks!" Carl said smelling it. "Maybe it's a nutrient?" Kanow suggested. "Well, whatever it is, it means we're getting closer to the Zerg." "He is right." Daalos said. "The Zerg never build far from their territory boundaries." "I assure you that you won't bet getting any further." A voice said. The survivors looked around, but there was no source for the voice. Suddenly, a trooper's neck snapped and he fell over dead. Another one had his own knife impaled into his chest. "No, not these guys again." Sally said. Suddenly, figures appeared. They wore the skin-tight camouflage suits of the Terran Ghosts. "This is the end of the line." The leader said pointing at Chris. "You must be insane if you think that you can overcome us with only five Ghosts." "Oh, there aren't just Ghosts around here." The leader said and snapped his fingers. Two rumbles started up and two Arclite Siege Tanks emerged from side allies and deployed into Siege Mode. "What do you want?" Chris said. "Fleet Commander Geralski wants your girlfriend dead. The freak." He snapped. "Well, you'll have to kill me too. There's no way that you're laying a hand on one of my troopers." "I'll kill you all if I have to…where'd she go?" The Ghost asked. Sally had vanished. "Find her." The leader said. The Ghosts shimmered out of view. "As for the tanks, if they move, shoot them." He laughed and became invisible.

The pilots of the tanks could see slow moving images on the cameras linked to the outside. So when Chris went into Bullet Time, the cameras didn't see him escape.

Sally ran up a few flights of stairs. She heard thumps behind her on the metal stairs. She drew her Python and squeezed off three rounds. The first two caught the Ghost in the chest. The third nailed it in the head. The camo failed and the dead Ghost rolled down the stairwell. Sally kept running up the stairs and reloaded her Magnum.

Chris ran into the building Sally entered. He nearly ran into a Ghost who's camouflage made his frame look like a heat wave. Chris drew his knife and slashed the Terran across the throat. Warm red blood gushed out. The Ghost grappled as his throat, but tumbled and died. He ran up a few floors to see a dead Ghost with two rounds in the stomach and one in the head. He kept on running.

"Captain, we have company." A cloaked ghost told his commander. "You two stay behind. I'll get the girl myself." The Ghosts saluted. "Yes sir." The two commandos waited, cloaked for their prey to emerge.

Chris stopped for a second to catch his breath. He clutched the stitch in his side and held on to the railing. He was never good when it came to stairs. He had to use a Stairmaster when he got back to the _Indomitable_, IF he got back. Chris shuddered and prepared to go up a few more steps when a fist slammed him right in the stomach. Chris yelped and doubled over. He rubbed his gut. "Jesus Christ!" he groaned. Then, more fists beat down on his bent back. The captain was slammed into the steps where the edge banged into his temple. Tears of pain welled up in Chris's eye sockets. He didn't lose consciousness however. A Ghost lifted Chris up into the air by his throat and landed blows into the Earthling's stomach. "How do you like that?" The Ghost crowed. Chris exhaled sharply as each fist slammed into his ribs. He heard one crack and decided now was the time to fight back. "This is what I think of that!" He brought his leg up and it connected with the invisible pelvis of the attacking Ghost. He dropped him in pain and it gave Chris a chance to attack. The captain punched where the noise was coming from. He was delighted as his fists made contact with skin-tight material. A sharp uppercut started to make the Ghost bleed in the jaw. Perfect. Chris backed up and drew his Ontario Combat Knife. He then thrusted it into the red stain. He heard the Ghost gargle in pain as the knife blade pierced the material on the other side. It cut a power line for the camouflage and the Ghost appeared, stunned as the Earther stabbed him. Chris shoved the Ghost so hard he threw him over the railing. The body of the Ghost thumped on the railings for more than ten flights of stairs until it landed with a resounding _thunk._

"Damn." Chris said to himself. But he wasn't the only one still alive. A muffled gunshot came off and a round just sailed by Chris's nose, making him spin for nearly a second. "You'll pay for that." He said. The Ghost rifle butt slammed into Chris's face, knocking one of his baby teeth out and nearly throwing him off of the stairwell. "Not if I can help it." Chris said wiping some blood away. "I'm gonna eviscerate you like the pig you are."

The ghostly voice said. Chris then took out his 665 and swung it like a bat. It connected with the invisible person and broke three ribs. The Ghost exhaled sharply. Chris turned his rifle and nearly squeezed off the whole clip. Each round was directed to the noise. Three fourths of the bullets connected. By the time the camo shield failed, the ghost was already dead. The bullet wounds left part of his skull and ribs exposed. Chris removed the nearly spent clip and put it on his belt. He took a fresh one and put it into the receiver. He charged the gun with a metallic _clack_ and then proceeded to take out the leader.

Sally was on the roof. She only had six more round left in the revolver. When she heard the door open behind her, she nearly cried. The door then closed. She heard footsteps clang on the rooftop. She didn't know where they were though. She fired one round at where it might be, but with no avail. She then felt the cold blade of a knife part her fur and touch her throat skin. "You put up a tough fight, little squirrel." The Ghost breathed. She could feel the coldness of death in his voice. "But I'm afraid it's all over for you. Even if your comrades survive, the Zerg will feed on their pathetic corpses. I will not leave until your blood paints this entire rooftop red." Sally felt tears well up. No one was coming. "Cry all you want. Your hero isn't coming through that door. Well, only if my lackeys bring me his mutilated corpse." Just then, the door slammed open and Chris, panting, walked through. "Let her go." He said in between breaths. "Chris!" Sally screamed before she was hit on the head and fell unconscious. "Heh heh heh." A deathly laugh rang out. "If it isn't the hero come to save the maiden." Chris felt goosebumps pop up on his neck as soon as the first syllable came. "I was just about to kill her, when you showed up." He was getting close now. "I don't know how you got past my Siege Tanks or how you killed my lieutenants but one thing's for sure, you're not getting past me." He was too close now.

Chris shouldered his rifle but all the shots missed. "You see? You can't beat me. Your strength is wasted." Chris almost fumbled the rifle with sweaty hands. "And you'll be easy pickings." A fist slammed into Chris's face. The captain spat blood and continued to look for his target. Three more punches came. Two connected with his already weakened ribs. He felt a slight sting as one scraped his lung tissue. The bone didn't puncture the organ though. The third fist landed on his head making it snap backward so fast his spine cracked. The Captain landed on the ground groaning. He could hear the ghost laugh maniacally as he paced closer. Chris barely got up when he was lifted p by his neck. He was then tossed almost to the edge of the roof. Chris gazed towards the street with a sudden dizziness. He pulled himself up in time to receive a boot to the face. He felt the rubber soles leave imprints on his cheeks for microseconds. Chris poked a finger into his mouth to feel his broken gums. He suddenly did a roll to the left. He must've deked the Ghost since he heard the Ghost exhale in pain. Now was the time to strike back.

He primed a smoke grenade. Maybe the dye in the smoke would stick to the skin-tight material and make him visible. Maybe it was his time to die. One thing was for certain: He was going to go down trying if he failed. "Here goes nothing." He whispered and pulled the pin. Chris cooked off three of the four-second fuse. He tossed the smoke grenade where it blew up in mid air. "Argh!" The Ghost growled as the dye shot out. "What?!" He screamed. "Bingo." "How is this possible?" he demanded. The Ghost was fully visible. Behind his mask, Chris could sense the Ghost trembling with both rage and terror. "Where are you?" Chris asked in a playful, maniacal voice. "No, please!" The Ghost said. The red smear began to run for it. Chris fired off three rounds into the door as a warning. "Uh uh." The captain scolded. "Reconsider!" The Ghost screamed now running for Sally. Chris jogged up, his gun still raised. "You wouldn't harm her." "No," Chris began and cocked the gun. "But I will harm YOU." The Ghost tripped and fell down. "No gun's gonna help you now." Chris said as the Terran looked for his rifle. "What will you gain from killing me?" Chris put his barrel up to he Terran's face. "I can find solace in the fact they you won't harm a trooper of mine." "Please!" He said with his arms raised. "Please, I have information." "Yeah?" Chris asked. "It worth anything? Cause if its not…" He switched the safety to full auto. "NO! Its worth it!" The Ghost said. "Lay it on me! If you tell me anything that's worth while, I won't kill you!" Chris roared. "The Zerg have infected a marine of yours and…" "ALREADY KNOW THAT!" Chris thundered nearly tugging on the trigger. "PLEASE!" The Terran cried. "T…they plan to build up an entire army using his genetic coding. The O…Overmind has the power to do it." "He's being used as a cloning template?" The Terran nodded. "Yes…Yes that's it!" satisfied his life was being extended for a few more minutes. Chris looked at the Ghost. "How do you know this?" The Terran gulped. "ANSWER ME!" Chris screamed so loud it echoed off of the rooftops. "We've seen it before. It's happened many times before when the Zerg have faced off against the Terrans in the past." "How dangerous are they?" The Ghost thought. "Very. They are some type of berserker who has no limit of strength. They can charge at their enemies with razor sharp tentacles or blow themselves up. I…is that all you need?" Chris looked down at the Terran. "Yes, you've given me all the information I need." The Terran exhaled. "Thank you, thank you." But then, Chris's hands swooped down on both sides of the Terran's head. "Wait! You said…" But Chris twisted his head until he heard the spinal cord snap. The Terran's eyes went blank and his hand dropped. The Ghost's breathing slowed to a halt. The final, sharp exhale pierced the air and then, silence. He was now dead.

Chris stared at the Terran with wide green eyes. He didn't… He didn't want to believe it but it was true. He promised to let him live. He killed an unarmed opponent who had no means to defend himself. Chris sunk to the ground and started to cry. What sort of monster had he become? Sally came to and looked for the source of the noise. "Chris?" she asked. The captain didn't turn to face her. "Chris, what happened?" Sally asked. "I killed him." Chris sobbed. "Why are you crying?" She asked. "I killed him after I promised to keep him alive!" Sally's heart sunk. Chris would never do that, no matter who it was; he'd always let an unarmed individual leave the battlefield in either on foot, or in a POW transport, never a body bag. "Why?" Sally asked. "I don't know why!" Chris yelled at her, almost like he meant it. "Chris…" Sally said with wide eyes. Chris tipped his hat over his eyes. "I don't know what's happening to me." Chris said. "I wish I knew too." She said kneeling next to him. "I promise," Chris said, "we're gonna go on vacation as soon as we're out of this." "That's more than I need from you." Sally said putting an arm around his neck. Come on, we have some people to save."

The Siege tanks turned off their engines but they didn't take the cannons off of the marines who sat around in their sights and played cards. The pilot took a swig of some Tarsonis beer and put his eyes to the screen. He said to his gunner, "I don't get how those guys can act so cool in this situation. We have our guns on them and all they can do is check to see if that guy over there is bluffing." The gunner stepped down from his perch. "Maybe they know they're gonna die sooner than they think and are just patiently waiting it out." "Maybe. Better get back to your post." The gunner nodded and climbed up to the cannon only to meet the barrel of a Desert Eagle. "Hi, sweetheart." Chris said and swiped the pistol butt across the gunner's temple, knocking him out cold.

"Hey, man." The pilot said studying the monitors. "I think they're starting to act a little odd. You okay, man?" "I'm fine." A voice said. "That's good. Wait are you OK? Your voice sounds a little odd." Suddenly, a pistol barrel went up against the driver's temple. "I never noticed." Chris said. The pilot suddenly reached for his sidearm only to receive a bullet through his brain for his trouble. Sally took out the navigator. The tank was empty. "You know how to drive this thing?" Sally asked. "From what we know, the cards are in our favor. The tank is already in Siege Mode and the cannon is twice as powerful. That tank over there is hostile so…" Sally smiled mischievously. "Oh I hear you loud and clear." She said slipping up to the cannon. She pulled out the gunner and sat inside the turret. The other tank's crew didn't notice as the cannon rotated towards them. Chris shouted 'GET DOWN' into the mike as soon as Sally thumbed the firing stubs.

Johnson heard the voice. "You heard him, marines, get down!" All bodies dropped to the ground as the tank barrels lit up and sent a slug right into the side of the opposing Siege Tank. The explosive blew a hole almost right through the vehicle, lifting it ten feet off the ground before it crashed to the road. Hot debris fell everywhere. Johnson used a piece of metal to light a cigar. "Damn!" Ryan said. "What a blast!" "No bones about it, Terran vehicles explode way prettier than ours!" Carl said. Sally climbed out of the turret to be greeted by a crowd of applauding marines. Chris followed. "Nice maneuver." Kanow noted as Chris came by. "I told the others to pretend you weren't there over the helmet radio." The ODST officer said with a smile. "They're gonna be telling stories about that one for a while." Chris smiled and grasped the ODST's hand in a 'hood handshake. "So what do we know now?" Shane asked his friend. "Well, our objective still stands: take out the Overmind. So we should get going." Shane nodded and gathered his men. The other team leaders followed. Haalos approached the human captain.

"Captain, I must say I was impressed after that show; you taking on five Terran Ghosts and surviving. Impressive. Even our Vindicators couldn't accomplish such a feat, and the tanks." "I had help though." Sally came up to him as if on cue. "Already telling people about how brilliant we are?" Haalos cocked his head as the human embraced the Mobian. Sally left when Johnson called her for an inventory check. "Captain, if I may?" Haalos said. "Yes, my good Protoss?" "I just would like to inform you that there might, after all, be a chance that this world will survive. It appears that Adun wishes it." Chris chose this moment to ask. "Who is Adun?" Haalos looked at the curious human. "I am surprised you asked, captain. Most of the Terrans I have encountered have never asked me that." Haalos took a breath. Chris shuddered since there was no mouth for the air to pass through. "Adun was our greatest warrior." Chris said, "Hold it. Warrior? You mention him like he's a god." "I will get to that, Captain." Haalos said nodding his head. "Adun fought the evils spewed forth by the failed experiments of the Xel'Naga, our creators." He said anticipating Chris's curiosity, who nodded. "Adun fought against the Zerg and won against them many times. In the end, Adun lost and retreated. Some say that Adun had left with the Xel'Naga. Others say that after the battle Adun was considered worthy to ascend to the ranks of the Divine. I do not know for sure, other than the fact that he deserves more respect than any of the Protoss." "So he's a mortal turned god?" Haalos cocked his head. "More or less." "Is there any evidence of Adun actually living?" Haalos chuckled. "I sense a tone of disbelief in your voice, human. I do respect you, but I would request respect to our religions." "Sorry." "It is forgiven. Yes Adun did exist. Ancient writings on Aiur recovered after the Zerg attack showed that over 4000 years ago, Adun did exist. And some of the oldest Protoss today claim that their parents, or grandparents had ties to Adun, such as friendship." "I see," Chris said. "You have a fascinating civilization." "Thank you human. Is there anything else your mind requires? Questions?" "What's with the 'Xel'Naga' thing?" "Simple. What is the equivalent of our divines to you?" "Um mine is God." "So the phrase would be similar to God be with you." Haalos did a double take. "Hold on…_yours_? You have individual gods?" "Well, there are hundreds of nations on Earth, we have hundreds of gods. God, Allah, Buddha, you name it." Haalos nodded. "Fascinating. In your numbers you have divided faiths. Most fascinating." "Not to nit-pick either but everyone's also trying to find out which one's better." "Interesting." Haalos said. "You think that's strange, you should wait until you've heard about our fuel prices. But that's for another time." Haalos agreed. "Perhaps. We do have a task at hand." "One more thing?" "Yes?" Haalos said. "Last night I heard _voices_ inside my head." "The Overmind is speaking to his children." "It's talking to them?" "Yes. The Overmind communicates telepathically. All within the range of his psyonic powers can hear his orders." "I see. Thanks." "Oh and Captain?" "Hmm?" Chris asked. "May the Xel'Naga bless us in our final assault on the Overmind. I hope we are up for the task." "Thank you, Haalos. I hope so too."

Kilometers away, the Overmind oversaw the construction of a force amassed by the DNA courtesy of Private Connel. Hundreds of infested marines were being produced. Hydralisks, Ultralisks, and Mutalisks kept coming and coming. Swarms of Zerglings amassed near their larger counterparts. "Excellent. Excellent." It murmured to its army. "You are all strong, my children. More than a match for the human interlopers."


	13. Chapter 11: What's Done is Done

Chapter 11: What's done is done 

October 6th 3235 2017 h

Gyosynchronized orbit over Madagascar

TCS _Unyielding_

Fleet Commander Irov Geralski sipped a cup of Umojian red wine. He heard the door slide open behind him. The Commander's eyes darted slowly towards the figure coming through the door. He saw Ursula Iraski walk through the door wearing an expression that only suggested that she was about to break down. "Ursula." Geralski said. "You bring news?" "I…" She trembled. "The Ghosts failed to capture the princess did they?" Ursula nodded and added, "The Earthling captain killed the Ghosts." Geralski didn't face the disgraced lieutenant. "I see." He took a breath. "You understand what happens now?" Geralski silently pulled a hold out pistol out of his pocket loaded with only 7 rounds. Iraski saw the weapon gleam and screamed. "No! Don't do this!" Geralski cocked the pistol and aimed it squarely at the lieutenant's forehead. "My apologies, Lieutenant. Your failures have lead to inconsistencies, and that I cannot allow. Surely you understand." "You son of a bitch. I only served you! I gave you years of my life! I…" Geralski discharged the pistol. The armor piercing round caught Iraski square in the temple. The Teflon coated round dug into her skull and shot out the other side leaving a large splatter of blood and brain matter on the metal. Iraski's eyes went blank and rolled into her head. She dropped to her knees mouthing 'traitor' and fell to the floor. The blood started to pool on the ground when Geralski said "Those years of your life were wasted, Ursula. I should've foreseen your failures as soon as you were assigned to me." He beckoned to a guard. "Have the body burned. And get me another Lieutenant." The guard nodded. He picked up Iraski's limp and bloody body and heaved it over his shoulder. Small specks of blood trailed the marine as he walked to the incinerator. Geralski pressed a button on his COM saying, "Get someone down here to clean this blood. And make sure the next Lieutenant does the job right." He muttered, "I always hated that bitch." Before returning to his wine.

The sun started to sink over the skyscrapers in New Mombasa. "Damn!" Bunnie said, "That thing don't get any closer, don't it?" she said pointing to the Orbital Elevator. "It makes you think," Sally said, "Why would the Zerg choose such a place to nest?" " A just question, indeed." Haalos said. Chris noted, "Maybe it has some sort of significance to the Zerg." "Maybe. But whatever it is, I don't like it." Johnson said sucking on a cigar.

"None of us do, Sergeant." Chris said. A beep sounded from Chris's ear communicator. He tapped his communicator's ear set and said, "Chris here. What's up?" Tails voice came over the communicator. "Chris! Tails here!" he said impatiently. "Something wrong?" The captain asked. "Its bad." The fox said, "How bad?" The human asked. "Well, for some reason unknown to us, we seem to be losing the ability to communicate through orbit to ground COM networks." "Whoa!" Chris said "Slow down! You mean to tell me that our communications is kaput?" "Yeah. However, where you are right now is outside of the effected radius." Chris was curious. "What's causing it?" "We don't know, but we can speculate that it's some sort of scrambler that the Zerg have taken over to shun out our frequencies." "Meaning that our radios will be next to useless when we attack the Overmind?" "Yes, unless you can destroy the scrambler." "Great. If we do, we can transmit coordinates for an orbital strike on the Overmind." "That's great, but I speculate you'd need some sort of transmitting device to relay the coordinates. To our cannons." "Done and done. Ryan has exactly the sort of transmitter you want." Tails smiled. "If you can put that thing on the Overmind, we'll give it a pounding it'll never forget!" "I just hope we get that far." "You're such a pessimist. You'll make it!" "Thanks for the moral support." Chris said. "Welcome, Cap. Happy hunting. And good luck!" Tails said. The COM snapped off. "What did Tails want?" Sally asked checking a clip on her rifle. "He told us that we would be losing radio communications from here on in." "Why?" Johnson asked. "The Zerg have captured a scrambler." "This scrambler would be impossible for the Zerg alone to take care of. I assume that this was only made possible through the use of our lost comrade Connel." Haalos said. "That's just what I was thinking." Chris said. "So we have a new objective. Half of us go to set up the transmitter on the Overmind, and half of us go and destroy the scrambler. If we can destroy the scrambler, we will be able to launch the orbital bombardment. "What happens if one team fails?" Bunnie asked. "You all have pistols right?" Nods. "One shot, both as an analogy and literally." "How can you even say that, shugah?" Bunnie said angrily. "This is our one and only shot!" If we fail, no one will be warned when the Protoss fry our planet. One fucking trillion lives will be lost! ONE FUCKING TRILLION!" "I'M SORRY!" Bunnie cried. "This is just pressuring me!" Chris saw that he was hurting Bunnie. "What the hell is wrong with me?" He said more to himself than to the others. "Chris?" Sally asked. "I think the Zerg are starting to get to you. You've become more aggressive, more violent, and less considerate of the ones around you." She looked to the soldiers. "Hey, is that Yuji Naka?" Carl said, pointing to nowhere in particular. "God damn I think it is!" Johnson said playing along, leaving the three humanoids to their conversation.

"It's like an infection." Chris said taking off his hat and stroking his wet hair. "I don't know what's causing it." "I'll tell you what's causing it!" Sally said poking his combat armor with her index finger. "It's this goddamned war against the Zerg. It's tearing our minds apart. I wouldn't be surprised if I drew my revolver and plugged you right now!"

Chris was aghast. She was right. Three times Chris had become more violent than he had ever been in his military career. It wasn't right. It just didn't fit. "I just don't understand." Bunnie then folded her hands and sat on a piece of debris. "Maybe this is why Sonic hates you." "Excuse me?" Chris asked. "It seems that you just go into violent rages whenever you fight in your battles." "I think you're still mad from me yelling a few minutes back. Let me apologize first of all. Secondly, I'm not a violent person." "Did you check your job title?" "You got issues with my job?" "Did I say that?" "You meant it!" "How about my fist does the talking for me!" "Oh yeah, maybe my rifle will have something to say about that!" Sally then stepped between them before rounds were discharged. "You both are acting like kids!" She looked at both of them. "Now, obviously you two have intimacy issues all of a sudden! Now let me speak!" Chris turned on his safety reluctantly. "Bunnie, Chris isn't a violent person. He didn't join the military by choice you know." "I find that hard to believe. He seems good at his job." Chris then lost it. He then shot Bunnie an ancient finger gesture. "Did you see that, Sal? He totally flipped me off!" Sally then turned around and delivered an uppercut to Chris, catching him square in the nose. Chris recoiled. He felt his nose gingerly. Chris yelped as the pain shot through his nose. Two trickles of blood streamed out of his nostrils. "You just…" "Yeah, I know what I just frickin' did, Chris!" Bunnie stuck out her tongue and flipped Chris off with _two_ fingers; one metallic, and one organic." Chris thought 'bitch.' in his mind. "You don't EVER insult one of my friends like that. I treat you with respect and I sure as hell expect you to give the same respect to me and my friends! Chris managed to stop the bleeding. "It's happening to you too!" The captain said. "I think the Overmind is screwing with our heads, making us hostile within each other. It's happening only to us three also." Bunnie gave a slight 'humph'. "Nice theory, shugah, but how are you gonna prove it?" "Did you NOT just see what she did to me?" Chris implied the cyborg, pointing with his thumb to Sally and his other index finger at his bleeding nose. "All I saw was a severely pissed squirrel put the hurt on a human." "Would Sally ever do that?" Chris asked. The two paused. _Aha_. "No." Bunnie finished. "She wouldn't. You're just too damn good to her. I just can't see it." Sally then looked at her fist. _This is way too easy to believe_. Chris thought. "Mother of God what have I done?" Sally said. "Chris, I'm so sorry!" "This is too weird. First you wallop me, next thing I know you start breaking down. You only smacked my nose. It isn't broken or any-OW!" he said feeling his bridge. "OK, OK, its broken!" the human screamed. "Why are we being so easily influenced?" Bunnie thought coming to her senses. "That's something I wanna ask the Overmind myself." Chris said cracking his knuckles. He reached down and picked up his rifle. He charged it and slung it. "So, are we cool?" The girls nodded. "Yeah, we're cool." Sally said. "Oh and sorry about the uh…" She said gesturing at her fist. "It's cool." Chris said. "I think." He said wincing as a slight pain throbbed in his nose. "You know," Sally said with a slight smile curling on her face. We're gonna need to get rid of that pain." She winked at Bunnie. "What are you…" but it was too late.

In an instant, both women were on top of the Human. Bunnie held the legs with her titanium and organic hands while Sally worked on the upper half. She dug into her vest and drew out a can of biofoam. "Oh no!" Chris said. "Sorry, Chris. This is the way it has to be." She stuck the foam cap in his nostril so it pierced the skin. Pain came. Sally clapped her hand over his mouth to avoid attracting enemies. "Shut up, Chris. Someone will hear us." He continued to moan. Sally grimaced as condensation formed on her palm. _Gross._ She thought. She pressed the button on the nozzle that sent medical foam jetting into the nasal cavity. Chris shuddered as the ice-cold foam filled the space between the cartilage and the bone and microscopically sewed the two pieces together. She took her hand away from his mouth. She rubbed it on her vest. "That was pleasant. I take it you dislike biofoam." "No, I love it." He said sarchastically. "The microparticles will tie the two pieces together." "You get shot and see how it feels, Princess." Chris said touching his nose. "It feels like a colony of ants crawling in my nasal cavity. "Don't touch it. Did you disobey your mother like that? Oops I'm sorry, touchy subject." "What happened?" Bunnie asked. "Later." Chris said. "Now where are those god forsaken troopers?

"Who would've thought Yuji Naka's 43rd great grandson was actually a hostage in New Mombasa?" Carl said checking his backpack. It was full of SEGA memorabilia. "The guy was so thankful he gave us a whole lot of Sonic stuff." "There's the Cap." Johnson said. "Hey guys." Chris said. "Everything go OK?" Ryan asked in a whisper. "Yeah, we're fine." Chris whispered back. "That's the trouble with women. They say one thing but do the opposite." "It ain't like that, Johnson." Chris said. "I think that the Overmind is influencing our minds." "What's that mean?" Lance asked. "I believe he means that the Overmind is dominating his emotions and actions." Haalos said. "You mean like a mind control?" Sally asked. "Not necessarily. Your minds are strong enough to retain your own consciousness." "This is a new trick." Logan said. "Why?" Chris asked. "The Overmind never pulled anything like this before. Ever." "So you think it may be evolving?" Chris suggested. "The Overmind learns." Daalos said. "It isn't intelligent enough to transcend its form. It just increases in capacity to learn, and develop techniques to destroy." "I guess that isn't good?" "Not at all." "Well," Sally said, that gives us another reason to put this thing down for good." She pulled back the hammer on the Python to make the carousel turn. "Let's get it."

At the base of the MOE, the Overmind chuckled to itself. "It seems that the humans are starting their assault. A feeble attempt to be sure. My children, attack them." An army of over a thousand infested marines turned on their heels and ran to find the UNSC troopers.

"Ooh, this isn't good." Chris said checking his radar. "What is it, man?" Kanow asked. "Check your radar, Shane." "Crap." Hundreds of red dots appeared on the radar, and they were moving at alarming rates. They didn't have enough ammo to fight off nearly a thousand hostiles. Suddenly, they heard the roar of a Pelican dropship. They looked up to see a trio D77TC detach their payloads: Warthogs with chaingun turrets. As soon as the suspension squeaked as the vehicle hit the ground, the captain was at the vehicle. "Hey look a note!" He said picking up a yellow Post It.

'_Here's a gift to help you in the long run. Good luck, man. I'm watching the whole thing onscreen. I hope you toast that thing's ass. Hear from you soon. I know you'll pull through. Best to Sal and Bunnie.'_

_-T._

"Isn't that sweet of him." Chris said handing the note to Sally. "So he can see us, but can't hear us?" "Looks like it." Chris said. "So we use the warthogs against the hostiles?" Kanow asked. "Yes but I think we'd better get in the cars now." Chris said drawing his Desert Eagle. "Why…" Kanow turned around. "Oh shit." A humanoid creature made a tremendous leap. Chris unloaded three shots into its skull. The wounds gushed green blood as the Zerg cartwheeled to the ground. "Oh no!" Johnson said. "It's the Flood all over again." "Get in the cars, everyone!" Chris screamed. No one needed to be told twice. All the marines triple timed it to the warthogs. Chris took the lead car's passenger seat. "Ok, who's driving?" "I am." Sally said slipping into the driver's seat. She clipped on the seat belt and started the engine. "Great." Chris groaned. "What, I can drive." "I feel sorry for the enemy when you're behind the wheel." "I'll take that as a compliment." Sally said checking herself in the rearview mirror. "Looking good, girl." She said to herself. Just then, another infested marine appeared around the corner. Ryan climbed into the gunner seat and Bunnie sat on back. "Gun it!" Chris ordered. He clipped on his seatbelt at the last minute before all hell broke loose.

Sally slammed her boot into the accelerator. The M12 LRV's tires squealed as rubber was sheared off of them. The jeep shot forward at almost a hundred miles an hour. The winch made contact with the infested marine's skull and ripped it clean off. The head flew onto the windshield and bounced off. The body was crushed beneath the tires, which made the LRV bounce. Sally made a hard left where Ryan put a Zerg marine into his gunsights. "Let me know if this hurts!" he said before unloading 50 rounds into the approaching Zerg." He switched targets and nabbed a leaping Zerg in the chest and tore him in half. "Bunnie!" Chris said. "Where are the other cars?" "All accounted for, right behind us!" two more LRVs skidded into sight guns blazing. "I'm gonna take a shot." Bunnie said. She aimed her arm and unleashed a plasma ball that made a Zerg marine explode, taking the other with it. "Man that was nasty!" she said. With a snarl. The convoy went under an overpass. "Take a right!" Chris ordered over the radio. All cars obeyed. Sally put her foot on the break a little late and made the warthog slam into a light pole, allowing the other two cars to overtake them. "Oops; sorry!" She said smiling sheepishly. The jeep was back on track. Sally drafted behind the other jeeps to get back into the lead. The convoy was now on a highway that took them to an express entrance to the MOE terminal. "Mutalisks!" Someone yelled. There were cries in the air. A trio of the flying Zerg emerged from the ruins of an apartment building. All cannons tuned towards the Mutalisks. "Open fire, Marines!" Sergeant Stacker ordered. Rounds erupted from the 665s and M421 LAAGs. One Mutalisk gave up and spiraled towards the ground. The Mutalisks got enraged and shot at the marines.

"Incoming, princess, 5 o clock!" Chris warned. Sally ducked as a projectile from the Mutalisk sliced into the windshield. "Thanks." She said, and then focused on the road again.

The Zerg fliers kept on shooting. One spinning disk caught an ODST in the chest. The Marine fell bleeding out of the trailing warthog's troop bay. "Take em out!" The sergeant commanded his men who were reloading their weapons. A few more shots came from the Mutalisk's cannons. A few more marines fell. Ryan turned the LAAG and sprayed the fliers with 14mm Armor Piercing bullets. The heavy slugs cut through the Zerg exoskeleton and tissue. The other gunners also joined in. Within thirty seconds, the Mutalisks dropped out of the sky. "Well done, marines!" Stacker crowed. "Just keep your heads down, we're coming up on what we think is the Zerg staging area." Chris's voice came over the COM.

Sally pulled the E-Brake that made the vehicle fish tale just before it skidded off of the busted highway. The two other LRVs also braked to a halt behind them. The survivors climbed out and surveyed the area. "What in the hell…"

"They approach…" 

"Is this...is this the Zerg army?" Sally asked uncertainly. It was a sight, no doubt. The ground had turned red with blood accumulated over the days. Nutrients formed near their structures. Hydralisks and Zerglings grouped near each other. Queens floated in mid-air constantly producing larvae-like creatures. There were also several units the survivors have never seen before. There was a force much more than required to take down the marines.

"Well, game over, all." Carl said starting to turn away. Johnson grabbed his breastplate strap. "Be thankful I don't charge you with dereliction of duty. Now that Captain's thinking."

Chris ran over the events in his head. "I think they knew we were coming." He turned to look at his men. "I think this is acceptable." Daalos said. "The Zerg have that ability to read minds like us and some Terrans. I believe they foresaw our efforts to reach this place." "Then what happens now?" Sally asked. "Well," Chris began. "It's a death wish to waltz in there." "And…?" Bunnie asked "And," Chris finished. "If we go after that scrambler, it's a death wish." "So what's the plan then, sir?" Stacker asked. "We split up…" "Oh God DAMN not again." The Sergeant exclaimed. "Remus, I know that you've suffered some inconveniences during our "split-up" phases. But you have to understand how big of a thumb we're under." "OK, OK, I get it. But I'm not happy about it." "None of us are." Chris said shaking his head.

"Halt!" A voice said behind them. "Oh no." The captain said. "Put down your weapons!" A trio of Terran Marines said. "I got a better idea." Chris said pulling out his Desert Eagle. He discharged a round into the lead Terran's skull. Before the body hit the floor, the other marines had discharged half of their clips into the remaining Terrans. "Pick up their weapons." Sally, Bunnie, and Johnson picked up the Terran C-20 Gauss Rifles. "Crude weapons." Sally said inspecting the gauss rifles. "100 round ammunition, huh?" "Looks like too much to me." Bunnie said pocketing some extra gauss clips. "Well, they don't use propellants, just magnetic coils." "Guys," Chris said. "I know you're all in love with those Terran cork guns but the Zerg heard those shots and frankly, they aren't happy about it." "Are they ever, Chris?" Sally asked. Ryan started up his chainsaw bayonet. "Its sushi time." Carl looked at him. "Dude that sucked!" "Do you know how sharp this blade is Carl?" Ryan asked with narrow eyes. "Get in the damn jeeps!" Chris ordered. "Shane, Ryan, Carl, Lance, Sally and you four come with me. We're gonna plant the beacon on the Overmind, wherever it is. Everyone else, Sergeant Johnson is the commanding officer for taking down the scrambler. Sergeant Stacker is the Secondary Officer." Both Sergeants saluted. "Ok, you maggots, you heard the Captain, move your sorry asses into these jeeps!" The marines got into their assigned vehicles. "Hey Sal!" Bunnie yelled. "Good luck, girl. You too Chris! Kick their asses, shugah!" The two Warthogs sped off.

"Well, I guess it's just us now." Chris noted and climbed into the passenger seat. Sally was about to climb into the driver seat. "Oh no; You. Out." Chris ordered. "What the hell?" She asked. "I'm not gonna risk this. You are not driving this time." "Let me drive, Chris!" She yelled at him. "And loose yesterday's lunch in the process? Get your royal furry ass into the troop bay. Ryan, you take wheel." "Roger." Percy said buckling in and starting the ethanol engine. Sally peeked over the passenger seat. "You suck you know that? I don't mean just irritating, I mean really, REALLY sucky. I can't believe you don't trust me!" "Just a precaution, my sweet. I can't let you be the one to kill us all" "You just missed out. _Sir_!" she said. Ryan accidentally jerked the steering wheel to the left causing the LRV to smack into a stop sign. "WHAT?" He said. Chris asked the same question. "WHAT? Ryan you jackass! What?" "That's right." The princess said starting to turn a little red. Chris turned his head, noticing the car was crashed. "Whatayadoin?" Chris yelled at Ryan, "Back up and get us on track." "Sorry chief." Ryan said. "I had no idea." "Yeah, neither did I." Chris said sheepishly.

The Warthog was put into high gear as it sped around a corner. "So, how do I arm this thing?" Chris asked Ryan about the Orbital Transmitter Beacon the captain held in his hands. "Just enter the ID signature of the _Indomitable _after you set it down on a surface. For all the good it'll do." "Why?" "Well, The scrambler will scatter the radio waves. The most the _Indomitable_ will ever pick up are a few lines of standard Binary code, if they're lucky." "So that's it?" Ryan nodded. "Yup. Genius, huh?" "Yeah. It's so easy. Stop here. There are strong signals coming from around this area."

The force of 10 marines exited the Warthog. "Shane, stay with me. Ryan, Sally, stay behind me." The marines poked around an ally and found something that made their jaws drop. "Is that it?" Sally asked

The second and third warthogs screeched to a halt. Johnson got out and moved the rest of the unit forward. They saw a single building about 100 meters in front of them that had a single shining red beacon on it. "That's it?" Sergeant Stacker asked Sergeant Johnson. "I think so." Johnson said lighting a cigar. "I don't like it. The same thing happened on Halo when Keyes and me went to look for a weapons cache; The Flood ambushed us. The room we were in looked completely empty." "Don't say that, man. It's giving me the creeps." "I'll try, Remus. You three meatheads!" He gestured to Lance, Chaz, and Bensati. "Move out there, check for hostiles." The three men moved into the open. There was suddenly dozens of screeches. "Zerglings! Fall Back!" Lance yelled. McGregor and Sullivan ran but Bensati panicked and fired off ten rounds. "BENSATI!" Stacker yelled. "Help me, Sarge! HELP ME!" The frightened Corporal screamed. Stacker ran forward. "Remus! Stop!" Avery said sprinting after him. Stacker stopped at the edge of the ally, realizing it was too late. "No!" he yelled.

A Zergling reared up and buried its claws into Bensati's shoulder. The Lance Corporal screamed in pain as the claws retracted. The Limb hung on a bone and ligaments easily visible. The Marine kept firing despite this pain. Ten more Zerglings came up and stabbed Bensati in the back. Each claw impaled the marine. Bensati now looked calm, like all the pain had gone away. "Sarge. I'm gonna buy you some time to get to the scrambler." "Bensati! No! Don't do this, boy!" "It's the only way. If you don't destroy this thing, we all die. Keep 'em off me while I arm this." He screamed. Another claw severed the damaged arm. Blood gushed out of the wound. Bunnie screamed. Stacker's voice was a whisper when he said, "Cover him." All the marines fired their weapons. A few Zerglings were taken down. Bensati reached into his pocket and drew out a C-9 explosive detonator. He used his right hand to punch in the detonation code for five seconds. "Tell my wife and kids I love them, and Sarge, I'm sorry."

The C-9 explosive went off. A ball of white light surrounded Bensati. His outline was briefly seen before disappearing from existence. The Zerglings instantly disintegrated. "Bensati!" Stacker cried. "Oh, Jesus Christ in heaven help me! He didn't have to do that."

"Remus," Johnson said, "He gave his life to buy us time. I know a couple of important people we have to keep alive. Lets go." The marines strode across the charred street to the building. Stacker paused briefly over the spot where the detonation started. "You OK, Sarge?" Rogers asked. "Frankie," Stacker began. "He called his daughter just a week ago and said, 'Sweetheart, daddy's gonna be home soon. Daddy misses you all. After I get back we're all gonna go to Disneyland, you, mommy, me, and Travis. We're gonna meet Mickey Mouse.' Now he's never gonna." "Sarge, its OK." Rogers said comforting his commanding officer.

Johnson was already inside. "Well, here it is." He said gesturing to the console. "This is it?" Bunnie said. "Yes, miss Rabbot. This box is what's keeping the Zerg from being fried into subatomic particles." "So we blow it up?" "You read my mind. Sullivan!" Chaz took out an M19 Rocket Launcher. "Get clear!" he yelled. Johnson and Bunnie scurried out of the way. Chaz jerked the trigger sending a 108mm rocket into the scrambler. The explosion sent shrapnel into all directions.

"Woo! That was a hell of a blast, eh?" Lance commented. "I'll say!" Chaz said back.

Suddenly, there was a scream that could be heard. It wasn't physical, but it could be heard in every single marine's mind. "W…What's that?" Stacker asked. "I don't know. I think it's the Overmind." Johnson said. "It sounds…angry." "That ain't angry, Sarge." Rogers said. "That's anger and fear." "Well, what's done is done. It's out of our hands now. Lets get evacuated out of here. Bunnie stood next to Johnson. "What about Chris and Sally?" "Like I said, it's out of my hands. Its entirely up to them now." "Sally Acorn's my friend." "We need to go. Stay behind if you like, miss Rabbot. Frankly, you aren't my problem, but we're getting off this rock. I feel safer in space than on a molten Earth." Bunnie's jaw hung open. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. She opened the jets on her boots and flew towards the source of the scream.


	14. Chapter 12: Assault on the Overmind

Chapter 12: Assault on the Overmind

October 5th 3235 1954 h

New Mombasa, Kenya

Millennium Orbital Elevator (MOE) Terminal entrance

Captain Chris James Vennettilli Soldier's Log

/Begin Entry/

This'll be the last entry before we begin the assault. I can honestly say I'm scared out of my life here. After almost a week of dodging Hydralisks and Zerglings I'm ready to put this thing down. At least if I go down, I'll die among friends, and I won't be here to see what comes next. Lets get it on!

/End Entry/

Chris typed silently on his datapad. This was no doubt the most important entry on it; forget all that crap about discovering Mobius. He spared a look glancing upwards at the creature. The Overmind stood before them. It was humongous, no understatement. It was so large that it reached the first ring of the MOE above the terminal, which was almost 500 feet. " This ain't gonna be easy." Sally said stroking her hair. " I don't doubt it, but we'll come out on top." Ryan said. "Remember back in Robotropolis? We took on an entire army of robots and survived!" "Yeah," Kanow said. "That's only because me and a hundred ODSTs were there." The Helljumper said smugly. "We could've gone by on our own." Percy said. "Yeah, and pigs fly." "Ever hear of the 'Sky Hogs'? 154th Mobian Air Division? Consists of all types of guess what? Pigs! Stick that in your ignition tubes." "Shut up!" Chris yelled. "This is getting us nowhere." The Overmind beckoned ahead. Four prongs jutted out in four corners, making it look like a structure, not an alien entity.

"So, how do we get by it?" Garin asked. "Well, I can say that with the others disabling the scrambler, all of their forces should be converge on that position, leaving us to plant the beacon on that thing." "Sounds like a plan." The Helljumper Captain said. "On my mark." Chris said. "Go!"

The squad ran out into the setting sun. Before they got a hundred feet from the alley, a scream came. The only thing was that the scream was inside their heads. "What is that?" Garin asked clutching his ears with his hands, feebly. "Its angry." Chris whispered. "What?" Carl asked. "Its angry!" Chris said a little louder. Just then, a voice came in Chris's head. 'Captain, Our plan has worked all but too well.' 'Haalos?' Chris thought, kowing perfectly well the others would question him if he spoke out loud. 'Indeed it is me. The scrambling device is disabled, but now the Zerg are moving to your position. You must complete your objective with haste!'

There was rumbling beneath Chris's feet. "Hey, what's going on, sir?" Lance asked. "Zerglings!" The captain shouted. Ryan started his chainsaw bayonet. A creature leaped out of the ground. Ryan swung the bayonet and caught the creature in the throat. The Zergling had raised its claws in defense but the blade hacked right through them and beheaded it. Green blood gushed out of its neck as it sunk to the ground. Hundreds more popped out. "Run to cover!" Chris ordered. He fired his Desert Eagle. The pistol barked as .44 caliber rounds tore into the approaching Zerg. He fired off 12 rounds before the slide shot back revealing the spring load for the magazine. The weapon demanded more ammunition. Chris swore as he ran. He thumbed the pistol's release button and slapped a new magazine into the receiver. He pushed the slide back in again to resume firing. "They never end!" Sally said after gunning down her 20th Zergling. "Look! Debris!" Carl said. Sally ran ahead and got a good running jump. Her momentum carried her into a wall and made her stick. She pushed off hard, her boots making squeaking noises as they came off the stone. She latched onto a hole and picked herself up. "Daaammn!" Carl said. "She's agile." "Shut up, she ain't your girlfriend." Chris said running to the wall. "Grab on, Cap!" She commanded lowering her hand. Chris took it and she pulled him up. "Carl, you're next." Sally said. She pulled Santorini up, then Carl, and then Ryan. "Jesus Christ, Percy, what the hell you got in there?" She said pointing to the pack. "Garin, take my hand!" She pulled the medic up. "Harland!" he came up. "Devin!" he also came. "Lovell!" Lovell wasn't so lucky. He grabbed onto Sally's hands. But as he was coming up, Zerglings swarmed around him and ripped his bottom half off. Lovell looked at Sally with blood running from his mouth. He knew his time was up. He released grasp and fell to his death. Sally shed tears for the lost soldier. "Lets go." She said.

"Hang on, I don't want those things following us. Collapse this section of the tunnel." Chris ordered. Lance and Ryan set charges. "Blow it." Ryan thumbed the detonator. Yellowish-orange flame erupted. The tunnel weakened and came down where the explosives detonated. The falling debris also crushed a Zergling that tried to follow. "Yeah!" Carl said. "Take that, bitch!" Chris snapped at him. "Don't encourage them. The Zerglings can burrow. Remember that."

The group emerged from the tunnels in the bright sunlight. Just as soon as the exited, a horde of infested marines converged on them. "Halt!" One of them ordered. "You will accompany us to our father, the Overmind." He said. "I don't think so." Chris said. He fired three rounds into the center marine. He detonated in a cloud of green flesh and organs. The other two seized Chris with razor sharp claws. Their tips jabbed into Chris's arms. The captain exhaled in pain as long streaks of blood came from the puncture wounds. "Follow us." The one on the left commanded. "Do as he says." Chris said eyeing the claws with a scared look in his eyes.

Up in space, Fleet Commander Irov Geralski looked down on Earth with a grim face. His spies have confirmed that the Zerg have attracted the Protoss. The aliens have no doubt caught wind of the infestation and would proceed to bombard the planet. Strange as to why they have been putting its destruction off for some time. Maybe this planet was some strategic use to them as well. Maybe they've allied themselves with the Earthlings. He didn't like it: two armies against one. He knew that if both decided to strike, the _Unyielding_ and the fleet wouldn't be able to stand up to them.

All the way above New Mombassa, Lieutenant Velo noticed something. "Sir, I have an idea." Andsworth was drinking a glass of Tau Ceti Ale when the Lieutenant made the statement. "Speak." He advised. "Sir, I have a feeling that if we amplify our signals using some of the communication dishes still relatively intact on the ruined MAC station _Malindi_ and the MAC station _Zanzibar_, we can effectively increase our scan radius by nearly a thousand more miles." "The logic makes sense, but what if a dish is damaged?" "Well, that'll cut the resulting scan radius in half." "Well, I'm desperate." The admiral admitted. "Go ahead, fire away." Velo manipulated the controls on the communications console to send out a wide-ban search frequency that looked for the dishes on the same frequency it sent out. If the dishes were still functioning, they would send a confirmation signal due to an IFF algorithm programmed into their system. Velo held his breath as he pressed the ENTER key on the console. 70 seconds later on the NAV screen, a blue link formed between the _Indomitable_ and the two dishes, forming a triangle, the scanning distance bolstered by 900 miles. "Yeah baby! It worked!" Velo crowed. "Good job, Lieutenant." Andsworth praised. Velo gave himself a smug grin and ruffled his jet black hair." He then focused on the console. "Hey what's that?" "What's what, Lieutenant?" "Something just popped up on the NAV." "Transfer it to main." Andsworth commanded. "Aye, sir. Transmitting."

A feed of Velo's map came up onscreen. Andsworth saw the signal too. "Check that thing. Is it an asteroid, space junk or the freaking Millenium Falcon?" "Scanning…Oh, this is rich!" Velo said. "It's a Terran warship, sir. It's holding position over the Glorieuses Islands, just a few miles above Madagascar." The bridge crew looked around. The helmsmen looked briefly behind them but kept their eyes on the stars. "How long have they been there, Jack?" "I don't know sir, but it looks like they've been using the same technique to track us." "Do they know we've picked them up?" "Negative sir. I'm reading no course corrections. I only spotted this since I've got the patience to look." "This will be fun. Sue?" "Yes sir?" the fox responded. "Call guns and ask them to fill up the tubes. We're in for a firefight." "Aye aye, SIR!" she said turning. She swept her hair out of the way and began to send a message to the fire deck. "Jerah, I want us to take it slow. Correct course one-two-seven degrees up angle." "Aye sir, one-two-seven degrees up angle."

The _Indomitable_'s engines flared electric blue as the supercarrier turned silently in space. The Terran battlecruiser stood miles away.

The proximity alarm flashed on the _Unyielding_. The crewmembers wheeled around. Geralski said, "Status report! What's coming at us?" A radar operator announced, "Sir, there's a ship! Estimated 749 miles off our port side!" "Damn! They must've figured out how to track us!" "Sir?" a lieutenant asked. "Orders?" Geralski exhaled. "Red alert, Lieutenant Malmsteen. Prep the wraiths for combat. Gather the surrounding Terran ships as well. We must fight."

Across space, Andsworth said, "Velo! Radio the flyboys and tell them to get to their crafts. We need to take this guy down. There's someone important on that ship and I want him dead." "Aye sir!" Velo hit the COM signal button and opened a link to all the available flight barracks. "All pilots, all pilots! This is First Lieutenant Velo. This is not a drill! All men assemble at their vehicles! Combat is imminent! Repeat: this is not a drill!"

Decks below, Major Everly snapped to as the message came. He listened for every word that came out of the COM box. The other pilots sat up as the warning was given. "You heard the man, boys! Saddle up! We have Terrans to kill!" A total of thirty-five men and women of the 98th Navel Air Squadron double-timed it out of the barracks. There were plenty of other teams marching to their fighters.

In Launch Bay 7, Everly and his co-pilot First Sergeant Brawnstein strode toward their vehicles: C710 Longsword Interceptors. A techie with a clipboard admitted them into the ship. "Just gassed her up for you, Major. Good Luck." "Thanks, kid. Not that we'll need it." The Major said smirking. The tech smiled too. "You'll have plenty of support, and we'll be able to provide some repairs for you too, if you make it back." "I'll remember that." Everly said shutting the rear hatch.

"So, Maj." Brawnstein said. "What's the plan?" Everly slipped on a flight helmet and slipped an oxygen mask over his face. "Here's what we're gonna do. "They're gonna be expecting us to come in guns blazing. You have control over the missiles?" "Sure." "OK, we're gonna circle strafe." "Like in video games?" "Yeah. We go around it. They have an artificial gravity field so we'll use that as a slingshot as soon as we're close enough. The field goes a little bit outward from the ship." "Sounds good. What about point defenses?" "Hit those first, Al." Everly commanded. "OK." Brawnstein said sitting down and bringing the controls to him." "Here we go." Everly said eyeing the countdown timer.

All over the ship, C710s and F-29 Hellcats were ready to go. All the pilots were waiting for the go to launch. T-minus 20, 19, 18… Each pilot ran over a final diagnostic. All systems were go. 10, 9, 8, 7… A few pilots exhaled. This was what they were paid for. Time to earn the paycheck. 2, 1, 0, Ignition. All fighters started their engines. The F-29s twin engines roared as they sent tongues of hot ion into the blast barrier. The mechanism in the floor sped forward and dragged the fighter along with it. At the end of the runway, the clam released and the Hellcat rocketed into space. The Longswords activated their belly jets and hovered twenty feet above the ground. Wing thrusters maneuvered the ships 180 degrees facing the open bay door. The Longswords shot forward through the magnetic field into cold space.

The _Unyeilding _did the same thing. Wraith fighters sped out of the ship's launch bays. More ships gathered around the battlecruiser. 7 more cruisers, and 14 Valkyrie-class missile frigates swarmed around the _Unyeilding_.

"Ok, people lets give those Terrans a fight they'll never forget." Andsworth said. "Lieutenant Barden. Arm the MAC cannon." "Aye sir. Loading the MAC." Sue said. "Jaffa, bring us on a course of one-one-seven degrees." "Aye sir. Changing course." "MAC gun is a full charge sir! Terran ship on the far left is targeted." "Fire."

The bridge lights dimmed as the MAC round shot from its tube and impacted on the far left Terran battlecruiser. The MAC round punched through the center of the ship all the way through, leaving a clean hole in the vessel. "Finish them off with a few Archer missiles." "Aye sir. Firing pods A through C." 150 Archer missiles streaked from the supercarrier's hull. They left trails of smoke in the vacuum as they sped to destroy their target. The missiles impacted and caused the battlecruiser to combust. Pieces of debris shot out in all directions. The remaining hull of the battlecruiser vented atmosphere and spun into Earth's gravity well where it would burn up. The _Indomitable_'s 50m MLA autocannons dealt with the Wraiths, transforming them into metallic ribbons in seconds.

"Prepare to target the far right Terran battlecruiser." Andsworth commanded.

"Echos Three and Five form on me." Everly ordered. "Roger that, Echo Leader, forming on you." Echo Three responded. The 3 C710s grouped into a delta formation. "Hostiles." Echo Five reported. A duo of Wraiths was unfortunate enough to end up in the Longsowrds' gun sights. "Take 'em down." The major ordered. "Copy that, sir. Fawks one!" Three shouted. An AGM12 Ship-to-ship missile detached itself from the fuselage and sped toward the lead wraith. The missile blossomed against the side of the aircraft and blew it up. Another missile finished its partner.

"That's another target down." The Mobian Lieutenant commented. The Battlecruiser had been torched in one shot where the MAC round had decapitated it. The hulk now just floated in space. "That was too easy." Braden said batting her eyelashes. "Should I target the last battlecruiser, sir?" She asked? "No, lets let our fighters handle it. You could say we're stealing all their kills."

"Nice job, Three." Everly said. "Major, Foxtrot 21 is in trouble. A couple of Valkyries are converging on him!" Brawnstein said studying the radar. Everly thumbed the maneuvering thrusters on his port wing to spin him 75 degrees around to face Foxtrot 21 who was being chased by the two missile frigates. The F-29 was on fire spewing frozen smoke into space. "I'm taking too much fire!" Foxtrot 21 screamed. "Hang on Twenty-One!" Everly said. "Five, Three, perform flank maneuver Oscar Whisky Tango!" The two other C710s broke off and prepared to dive bomb. "Sir!" 21 screamed. "I'm taking too much fire! I'm ejecting!" The cockpit of the F-29 blew off and a rocket propelled escape pod emerged from the beaten chassis. A small waypoint marked 21's pod. "We'll deal with the Valkyries. Get to the _Indomitable_!" "Roger, sir!" "Boys, commence maneuver Oscar Whisky Tango! Go!" Three Longswords rocketed towards the stunned missile frigates and launched five-megaton nuclear warhead missiles at them. The resounding blast went off silently in the near vacuum of space. The missile frigates were turned into molten slag coolant and superheated atmosphere boiled in space. It seemed that nearly half a dozen Wraiths also got caught in the blast. "Great shot sir!" Brawnstein said. "Kiss my ass another day, Sergeant!" Everly said jerking the yoke towards him. The Longsword climbed in the void until it was facing the _Unyeilding_. "If we take her down, the entire Terran fleet will crumble like chalk." "Roger, sir." Three said. "Yeah, ditto, sir." Five added. The three ships rocketed towards the Battlecruiser. A Delta lance of F-29s made a head on attack at the bridge when an orange light came out of the front. The light formed a giant beam that consumed the Hellcats and left nothing. "Shit! Forgot about the Yamato cannons! Break formation but stay near each other. Try to go for the outer turrets." "OK, sir." Three responded.

Three went on the starboard side of he ship. His copilot unloaded the 110mm gattling cannon into a point defense system, which blossomed into flames. " One down!" Three crowed.

Five repeated the same maneuver. "Nearly got hit back there but I got it." He reported. "Good job guys." Everly said. "Now we focus on the Yamato cannon. Look out for when it's charging to fire." Just then, the light started up again. Only this time it fired and nicked Five. "I'm hit I'm hit!" Five screamed as atmosphere leaked from a gash in the fighter. "I got a hull breach! We're OK though. Our masks were on but the decompression spun us off course. We can't join you because we have to get repairs." "Understood, Five. Watch yourself out there." "Will do, sir." Five sped off with gray atmosphere still coming out of the rip. "Looks like it's just you and me now, Three." Everly said. "You got it, boss!" The two fighters blew up a squadron of Wraiths that got in their way. "That's the Yamato cannon charger." Everly stated. "Great. So now what?" Three asked. "We torch it of course!" The major said. "Right. I knew that." Three said launching a nuke at the cannon.

Geralski recoiled as a rumble shook the ship. "This was it. They were going to loose. A small fleet of Terran ships against one Earth vessel. And they were going to loose. Geralski realized he had failed. He had failed to make Earth pay for his crimes. He failed to honor the memory of the Fleet Commander before him, and most importantly, he failed himself. He pulled out the same pistol he used to kill Ursula. He aimed it squarely at his head, and pulled the trigger.

"Almost got it, major!" Three said. The _Unyielding_ started to vent Vespine gas. They couldn't launch any more Yamato blasts on account of their cannon being destroyed, and most of their support ships had been neutralized. "Let's take this bad boy down!" Everly crowed. "Brawnstein, gimme firing solutions for our remaining nukes." "Got it. You're aiming for the engines?" "Yes, I want to ignite that fuel." "Solutions locked. "Fawks one and two!" Two nukes screamed out of their berths. Three proceeded to do the same. When the missiles struck, the resulting blast shockwave made the C710s do a few backflips before Everly could counter the spin with thruster blasts. He added fuel bursts to turn the Longsword to see the destruction he had caused. The _Unyielding _was in tatters. The rear half had been completely blown off by the missiles. That end was viciously venting gas and atmosphere. The Vespine had been ignited and continued to combust any more in the ship. Like popcorn kernels, the insides of the _Unyielding _began to explode outwards. Plumes of green flames forced their way out of the innards of the ship, boiling any venting gas near it. Soon, the entire battlecruiser became a floating, dead piece of metal Swiss cheese. "We did it!" Three crowed. "Yee Haw!" He said. "Woo hoo!" Everly whooped. "We bad!" "You the man, major!" Brawnstein said. "Damn right I am!" The major said with a wide smile. "Lets mop up these jerks and go home."


	15. Chapter 13: Catch and Release

Chapter 13: Catch and Release

October 5th 3235 2017h

Near base of Millennium Orbital Elevator

Two Infested Marines held Chris forward as more guarded the squad. They marched him closer to the gigantic Overmind in the center of the Zerg camp. A few Hydralisks eyed the UNSC marines hungrily until a voice commanded, "_Be still, my children._" Five minutes later, they were so close to the Overmind that the smell of it was overpowering. " _You._" it said, obviously referring to Chris. "_You are the one who has caused us so much trouble._" "It's a habit." Chris said weakly. "_Release him._" The Overmind commanded. The Infested Marines obediently let Chris go. He gasped as the claws were removed. He gingerly rubbed his arms snarling as his fingers slid into the bloody gaps in his skin. "You are the Overmind I take it." "_You address me casually, Terran. Know this. I am not a force to be reckoned with_." "Terran?" Chris inquired. "I am a native of this planet Earth. I want nothing to do with the Terrans." "_So you say._" The monster said to him. "_I believe that your correct term would be Earthling then?_" "Listen, I know that you're trying to be a good host, Zerg, but I have a job to do here." Just then, a spike of pain shot through Chris's mind.

The Captain screamed and clutched his forehead. The human sank to his knees and took in deep breaths. "_That wasn't as powerful as I would have liked._" The Overmind stated. "_I had the option to kill you. But there might be some use for you._" "What are you saying?" Chris asked. "_I ask for a contribution to our…efforts." _"What do you want, my DNA?" "_What ever gave you that impression_?" "You did the same thing for Connel." "_Then it appears that I have underestimated you. The Protoss seem to have sided with you to help you figure out Connel's part in the creation of our army._" "We're doing better. We're going to stop you." The Overmind actually chuckled. The laugh echoed in the deep pats of Chris's mind. "_You are but one man! And your only means of support are a small group of men and an alien woman. Ah…_" "Get the hell out of my head!" Chris demanded as he felt the psychic tendrils clutching at his memories. "_What if she was turned to us? Would that convince you to join our cause? You are weak when it comes to the emotions of others." _"I'll kill you before you do anything like that." The captain threatened. "_Bold words, human. But your efforts are in vain. I cannot be defeated. I am more powerful than my predecessors ever were." _"We'll see about that."

Chris activated Bullet Time and propelled two rounds into the Infested Marines. The Zerg flew backwards before blowing up, not harming their captives. "Everyone OK?" Chris asked. "Yeah, we're fine." Kanow said. "I don't think you're friend is gonna be as happy." "_Stop them. Bring me their corpses._" "Let's get out of here!" Sally said. "Sir!" Ryan called out. "We need to set this thing up!" He said beckoning to the orbital bombardment beacon. "OK, where do we need to set it up on?" "Well sir, the most effective place would be in the center of the target or in this case, the top." Chris looked up. He swore and said, "Great. This gets better and better." "Sir!" Carl yelled shouldering his 665. "We got company!" they heard the flapping of wings. "Mutalisks!" Shane yelled and fired a few 3-round bursts into the aliens. They screeched as the bullets pierced their skin. The airborne Zerg fell from the sky and thudded on the ground. "Next wave coming!" Chris warned. "Start climbing!" Sally turned and cocked her head at the slope of the Overmind. "Tell me you're joking, right?" "Is this the face of a soldier who would lie to you?" Chris turned. Green and red blood soaked his face and uniform. Claw marks were in his skin and sleep deprivation formed small bags underneath his eyelids. "No." "OK, come on squirrel girl, take point. We'll follow." "Great…" she groaned. Her hands contracted on one of the thousands of blunt spines on the entity's body. She gagged as the squirming sound forced its way into her ears. "Climb!" Chris ordered shooting down another avian Zerg unit. "Ok, shut up. This takes time. Be patient and wait." "Easier said than done, Sal…" Chris said. Sally took a deep breath and started climbing again. "Will this have anything to do with the fact that I'll be right over you when you start climbing?" "_What is this one doing?_" The Overmind inquired. "_What is she attempting to do?_"

"I am so not paid enough for this." Sally complained. "Quit bitching!" Chris ordered. "Jesus Christ, Chris. You're getting very crabby lately aren't you?" "Going on an operation of life or death can make a person angry!" Carl, Ryan, Shane, Garin, Harland, and Devin started to climb. "Ooh Christ." The Helljumper said. "This thing feels like rotten jello." "Hang in there, Shane." Chris said. "Oh sure you're nice to him." the princess remarked. "Here they come again." Carl said slipping an M9G pistol from his holster and squeezing off two rounds into the cranium of a Mutalisk that got too close. The 12mm rounds lodged in the creature's brain. The Zerg fired a shot accidentally into one of its allies and they both fell to the ground. "They'll send more." The captain reassured. "Thanks for telling me that." Sally said. "Less talk, more climbing!" The captain barked. "Give it a break already?"

Soon the incline was gentle enough to walk on. They were hundreds of feet above the ground now. "Woo! We did it." Carl said. "I can safely say that my back is feeling so much better now." "_They still live on!_" The Overmind said. Chris sunk to the ground again. Chris screamed as the Overmind sent another lightning bolt of pain into his frontoral lobe. Dots of light danced in front of Chris's vision. "Chris! Come on, we're nearly there. Come on, buddy." Shane said. "I'm OK." Chris said. "We're almost done."

"Right. Ryan hand me that beacon." "Got it." He said. He took out the small piece of metal. Before he could arm it, two Mutalisks came from nowhere. One knocked the beacon out of Ryan's hands. The Corporal turned his chainsaw bayonet on the second and bisected it. "The beacon!" Ryan yelled. "I got it!" Chris said. "Chris wait!" Sally screamed realizing where the beacon's trajectory was taking it. But it was too late. Chris Went into Bullet Time once more, but severely weakened by the past events. He vaulted himself in the air and his right fist closed around the beacon. "I got it!" But then he realized that he was more than 20 feet away from the safe slope of the Overmind's "roof". "Oh Christ!" Chris cursed and sunk out of sight.

"I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die!" Chris thought. There was no miracle waiting for him at the end of this fall. The ground was coming up quick until…"Gotcha!" A voice yelled. Chris opened his eyes and blinked to make sure he wasn't dead. He looked up to see the familiar face of Bunnie Rabbot hovering mere inches above him. "Hey shugah!" she said. "Bunnie! Thanks for showing up!" "Thanks for dropping in, shugah." She said. "We have to get back to the top and arm this." "Right. I can take you up there, hang on, handsome!"

Jets in Bunnie's boots rocketed them up at near terminal velocity. The Marine struggled to hang on, and from time to time he couldn't help but gaze down at the street below. "Don't look down!" Bunnie cautioned. "You humans are harder to carry!" Soon the pair was in sight of the squad who were overwhelmed with happiness as their commanding officer appeared to them. "Ryan! Catch!" Chris tossed the beacon to Ryan who slammed it into the Overmind's blubbery skin and started the transmission sequence. "OK, the _Indomitable_'s transponder code is Alpha 2 5 1 1 Epsilon Delta X ray. And there it goes!" Sally stared at Chris. "Don't you EVER scare me like that again she said gripping his face with her fingers so hard he thought his head was going to pop. "I'm OK, aren't I?" "Chris, Chris, Chris. You keep finding more ways to frighten me each day. I am glad you're all right though."

The signal from the beacon shot right through the atmosphere like a red-hot poker through snow. The signal was bounced off a satellite near the moon and was transferred to the _Indomitable_. "Hey, what's this?" Lieutenant Velo said looking at the new notice on his desktop. "Open it and find out, Lieutenant." Admiral Andsworth said. "Orbit-to-Ground Bombardment Beacon. Sir! It's coming from the planet! Right on top of the Overmind!" "I'll be." Andsworth said with a smile. "They did it!" "Yes sir." Velo said. "But there's a message with it." "Put it on main screen." "Aye sir."

"Admiral!" Capatin Vennettilli said. "Our situation down here is critical." "Nice to hear from you, Captain." Andsworth said. "I'd say something nice back, but we are kinda in a situation right now." "I see. What's the problem?" "The signal one of my men sent you is a fire coordination message. It tells the ship where to fire its cannons, namely the MAC guns or NIMH class nuclear warheads. Or so my demo expert says." "That would be Corporal Percy, right?" "You'd be correct sir." "OK, I'm sure whatever he says _has_ to be true so I'll set up firing coordinates. I'll be initiating an Alpha Strike on that position." "An Alpha Strike?" Chris asked becoming aware of the order to fire every gun on the _Indomitable. _Well, any gun that could put a hole in a sizeable opponent. "Think about the collateral damage sir! The MOE. That strike may be able to damage, and maybe even destroy the terminal. Without that, the elevator would fall from orbit. Monstrous debris showers not to mention the asteroid serving as the anchor could take a chunk away from the city!" "Are you saying you have a better way captain? Answer then." There was a pause for a few seconds. "No, sir. I do not have an alternative solution." "Alright. Here's what I want you to do: After those coordinates come through, get the hell out of there far away from that thing before the thunder comes down. Wait for a little while after that. You'll be exfiltrated from the area. Most importantly, stay alive, Captain. That's an order." "Yes sir, I understand. Captain Vennettilli out." The COM snapped off. Andsworth turned to Sue. "You heard me, Braden. I want those guns prepared to fire in 10 minutes. Move it, crewman!" "Aye aye sir! I'm on it Admiral, sir!" The Mobian replied. Andsworth felt the urgency in her voice. Never had he seen Sue work so quickly and deliberately before. Then again, this was their last shot." "Guns warming up sir. MAC cannon is at 200 overcharge. The coils will burn out right after we fire." Andsworth nodded. "Lieutenant Jaffa, adjust our course with the coordinates that were given to us." "Aye sir, setting main engines to 150 per cent. I'll get us there in about 2 minutes." "Make it so." Andsworth replied.

The _Indomitable_ cruised through space quickly. Its engines flared a white-blue due to its hi-powered state. The maneuvering thrusters fired on its stern. The vessel cartwheeled in constant free fall. The retro thrusters fired in order to keep it from spinning in space. The side boosters kept on sending gusts of energy outwards until they were matched with Earth's rotation speed. They were now in gyosynchronized orbit right next to the MOE. This was no small feat since the supercarrrier's hull drifted dangerously close to the nanotube structure. That material could threaten to bounce the ship of course. Even a little nudge could make them miss by a wide mile. Or the Titanium A could slice through the nanotubes completely and send a 1000 foot wide asteroid into New Mombassa along with the spaceport terminal.

"Whoo!" Jaffa exhaled as he slumped back on his seat. "That was close." "I'll say." Andsworth exclaimed. "Any closer and we could've done some damage." Velo looked on his screen. "Sir. The Protoss ship is coming this way!" "Any sign of weapon powerups?" "None sir. They're hailing us." "Put it on main." "Aye sir." The screen flickered on and Andsworth was staring straight into the glowing eyes of Executor Zarok. "Admiral. I hope this isn't a bad time." "Not at all, Zarok. May I ask why you've returned to us since your absence from the space battle?" "We were busy gathering forces." "Forces for what? The disinfestations?" "I am afraid so. However, after intercepting your radio transmission, I apologize for that, by the way." "All's forgiven. Go on." "Yes. After intercepting the transmission, we have decided to repurpose the ships assist you in your task." "That's excellent. Actually. I have coordinates for an orbital strike. I would be grateful if your ships would synchronize their aim." "This we can do." Zarok said approvingly. The Protoss ordered the ships into position using his language. "It is done. All we need to do now is wait for your command." "Just eight more minutes." Andsworth said. "Run Chris, run!"

Down on the planet, the Overmind supposedly found out what the commotion on top of it was. It gave a long, howl of anger and fear as soon as it put two and two together. "_No! This cannot happen! Kill them! Destroy their device!" _It ordered. Chris heard the approaching Zerg cries longing for the taste of human blood. "We have a problem." "Oh great. Another problem." Shane complained. Chris ignored him." "The Overmind wants the beacon destroyed. We have to stay with it until it's beyond the point where it safely can be disarmed." "That's just plain stupid!" Bunnie said. "Better than having it run and having our planet heated to a molten rock. With us on it by the way." Bunnie then considered. "You do have a point, shugah. I admit I don't like it but, what other choice do we have?" "None." Carl said. "That's that. Then. This is our last stand." Sally said. "Like I haven't experienced that before." Chris said reliving the events in Robotropolis months ago. "Well, lets be happy that none of the Zerg can climb" Ryan said. Just then. A long roar omitted by a large creature sounded. It was like a large, floating crab. "_Deal with them, my queen. Leave none alive!_" "That's not good." Chris said. The queen roared again and prepared to fly forward. "Open fire!" Chris ordered. The marines unloaded their weapons into the Queen. But the rounds pinged off. "Ryan, Try using your grenade launchers!" The captain ordered. "Yes, sir!" Ryan aimed his 665's grenade launcher at the beast's head. The 25mm grenade shot from the tube and impacted on the hide of the queen. It roared in pain but still kept coming. Its massive claw swiped and nearly decapitated Kanow, but badly cut his arm. "Oh God!" He screamed as small white of bone appeared in his wound. Blood started gushing out and he fell into shock. Kanow's unconscious body fell and bounced on the Overmind's enormous, gelatinous body. "Keep hammering it with grenades Ryan!" Chris ordered. "Yes sir!" Another grenade slammed into the Zerg. This time, it flinched and sunk lower. "It's stunned!" "That's my cue!" Ryan said leaping into the air and landing on he queen. "What the hell is he doing?" Kanow demanded, who quickly recovered and wrapped canvas around his damaged arm. Ryan started up his chainsaw bayonet. It puffed smoke as the blade whirred. Ryan slammed it into the Zerg through the top of its head. Whatever brain was inside that skull was blended. The queen started bleeding a whole lot from the wound. Ryan jumped off just in time. As the monster Zerg sunk from view and landed on the ground with a huge _thud_. "_This is impossible!_" The Overmind stated. "Nothing's impossible." Chris said. "How much time?" "We're at two and a half minutes! Way beyond the safe time!" "OK, lets move!" "Wait!" Bunnie said taking the portable shield off her wrist and activated it. She placed it right on top of the beacon where it formed an impenetrable bubble around. "The battery should last long enough for the ships to fire. Now let's get out of here." The survivors ran until they reached the end of the "safe" slope of the Overmind. "Now what?" Carl demanded. "I think we should use some of our chutes." Chris suggested. "We had chutes?" Sally asked. "Yeah. They gave us some in case we needed to make some _dramatic_ escapes off of tall buildings." "I don't have one." She said. "Well. You and Bunnie could ride down." Just then, Bunnie stomped her foot. "What the hell do I look like, a ferry service?" "Our chutes can't support more than one person. Unless our good friend Sally wants to become nuclear fried street pizza, I suggest that you let her ride with you." "Fine. Only because it's her." She concluded. "Clock's ticking!" Ryan said. "Let's jump!" the captain ordered.

One by one, each Marine base-jumped off the Overmind. About 70 of the way down, their chutes activated. Shane hit the ground a little late. He grunted in pain, as is tibia jammed. "Damn!" he grunted. "Where are they?" Chris demanded to himself. Just then, the Warthogs E-braked into the area, the one in lead driven by Johnson. "Hey Cap!" the sergeant said. "Guys! You are sights for sore eyes!" Chris greeted. "We need to get out of here. There's about a little more than 2 minutes before the Fist of God wipes these guys out." "Say no more. Fall in!" Johnson barked. The marines snapped to and climbed into the warthogs. Chris took the passenger seat of the jeep driven by Sergeant Stacker. The rest climbed in the back. "Drive!" He commanded Stacker. "Ok, sir." He spun the wheel so the Warthog did a fishtail then shot down the street. "I bet that thing ain't happy that we decided to bomb it from space?" Remus asked the captain. "It isn't happy at all." Chris said with a chuckle. A command then echoed through his mind. "_Kill them! Their deaths will bring me a sense of peace!_" "Uh oh." Chris said. "We're gonna encounter beaucoup bad guys!" Stacker announced. "Shut our safeties off!" The Marines in the vehicles cocked their gun and scanned the skyline for any Zerg. They were rewarded with a small group of Mutalisks. "Fire at will!" Stacker ordered. The men simultaneously squeezed off rounds. Streams of brass spent casings shot out of the chambers. Most hits were direct but these Mutalisks were stronger than the rest. A whole clip was spent before one finally gave up. "These guys are tough!" Garin noted. "They're determined." Haalos said. "They know the end is coming and wish to stop or kill us as a consolation." Daalos added. Haalos launched a ball of energy at a Mutalisk and disintegrated it. "Whoa." A few Marines said. A few Zerglings jumped from a low-lying building onto the road. "Hang on, people!" Stacker warned. The huge tires rolled over the Zerglings. The jeep bounced in the air momentarily. "Speed bump!" A Marine shouted, causing the troopers inside to chuckle. Johnson's Warthog did the same thing. Only a Zergling managed to grab onto the winch and pull itself onto the hood. Sally wheeled around. She took out her .357 and blasted the Zergling right off the hood onto the road. "Nice shot!" Stacker said.

Ryan looked at the watch. "40 seconds!" "God damn! Can this jalopy go any faster?" Stacker urged. He spotted a small lever underneath the steering wheel labeled N2O "Oh yeah." He said. He thumbed the controls. Nitrous Oxide 'Nitrous' flowed into the fuel pipe. It mixed with the ethanol in the combustion chamber and ignited in a brilliant blue flame. The power was so great that the gravity increased by 1 G. All the Marines in the Warthog were catapulted to the ground due to the rapid acceleration. "This is awesome!" Stacker said in between breaths as his patrol cap nearly flew off.

"Whoa." Johnson said. "What the hell was that?" "I think they used Nitrous, sir." Lance said. "Nitrous? In a Warthog? What is this, Need for Speed Underground?" "There it is!" Chaz said pointing at a blue button. Johnson pressed it and the car rocketed forward. The cigar hanging in Johnson's mouth fell out and was carried away by the rushing wind. "Why me?" He groaned.

Both cars caught up eventually. They got close enough to talk. "How much time it left?" Johnosn asked. Ryan checked his watch. "That's it." "You're kidding." Chris said. "Nope. That's it. They're going to fire."

Up in space, Sue reported, "All weapons at maximum functionality. Waiting for your launch order, sir." "I've just about had it with these damned Zerg. Fire away."

The _Indomitable_, plus a few more Protoss ships fired their weapons. The bridge lights actually went out for a few seconds. Slight recoil in gravity caused the ship to shoot back slightly. The MAC rounds collided with the blue lasers and formed a plasma-coated slug traveling at near light speed. NIMH tactical nukes launched and streaked towards the planet. The MAC rounds hammered the atmosphere and shattered many sound barriers at once. The NIMH nukes looked like asteroids. The Overmind let out one final, angry scream before the rounds hit the ground. The MAC rounds hit the entity. The explosion was so great that it instantly vaporized everything in a 100-yard radius. The NIMH nukes also hit the ground and created a mushroom cloud that extended for 20 miles into the sky.

"Whoa." Stacker said turning his head to look at the nuclear cloud. "Sergeant! Get us somewhere safe!" Chris ordered. "How's that parking garage?" He said pointing to a subterranean perking structure. "That's perfect!" The Warthog swiveled down the ramp. The approaching shockwave ate up building. The Warthogs kept on climbing lower into the ground when the wave of heat and energy reached their position. Debris flew in the entrance of the parking garage and collapsed the floor. Thankfully the Marines were low enough not to get incinerated by the blastwave but the roof collapsed over their heads.

Up in space, the explosion could be seen clearly from the moon. The _Indomitable_'s lights flickered back on. The artificial gravity generator must've been out since everyone was now floating. "Status report." Andsworth ordered. "COM lines are fried from the launch, sir." Velo reported. "MAC cannon coils are burned out beyond repair, Admiral." Braden added. "We still have power. But we lost gravity control." Jaffa noted. "Other than that?" "We have green lights on everything else." A crewman reported. "Excellent. How was the shot?" "A confirmed hit. A direct hit to be exact!" " Excellent! Do we have a visual?" "Patching through!"

A satellite feed showed the crater. The Admiral patched it through to every console on the bridge. A deep crater more than five hundred feet deep showed up. Not a single Zerg was on camera, alive or otherwise. The bridge crew broke out in applause and joy." "Nice work people! We did it!" Velo stopped cheering and put on his headphones again. "Sir, we're being hailed by the Protoss ship." "Put them on." Zarok's face appeared on the COM screen. "Admiral, it appears that we've emerged victorious." "Damn straight!" "A request if I may?" "Go right ahead." "I would like to board the vessel and congratulate you personally." "Sure go right ahead. I'll have a shuttle sent to you…" "That will not be necessary." "What do you mean?" Just then, Zarok appeared right in front of Andswoth.

"Jesus!" A few crewmen screamed. Sue cowered in her chair raising her arms to shield herself. Velo even went for his pistol before they realized who was there. "Wha…What was that?" Andsworth asked. "A teleportation device. I see that it worked to great affect as it usually does." Zarok chuckled. "I can instantly travel from one place to another within reasonable distance." "Well it gave me a heart-attack!" the speechless officer admitted feeling for his heart beating at 170 BPM. "It usually does. We scared Terrans just for fun." "You wanted to say something to me?" "Ah yes of course. I may not be wide in the knowledge of Human customs but I believe this would suit your current situation." He held out his palm. Andsworth smiled and shook it. "I hope that we can remain allies in the coming years." "I hope so too." Zarok rotated his head towards the still smoldering blast crater on Earth. "I see that we did a fair job?" "Yeah. But we couldn't do it alone. The marines on the surface…oh no!" "What is wrong?" Andsworth turned to Velo. "Try to raise the Marines on COM." Jack turned to his console. "I can't get anything, sir." He said. "What about transponders?" "Still there. Stationary though." "Does this mean they are dead?" Zarok closed his eyes and thought deep. "I can still feel the life force of those supposedly lost. They are alive, but only just." "Well, send out search teams, Lieutenant!" "Aye sir! Right away, sir!"


	16. Chapter 14: Rescue

Chapter 14: Rescue 

October 12th 3235 1245h

New Mombassa, Kenya

1 week later…

A trio of D77TC Pelicans hovered over the city to display their hourly reports. "What you got, Delta 512?" Asked the superior Echo 489. "Well, I went with Golf 178 to the ruins of the nuclear strike. We're trying to see if there's a place where they took refuge." "Wait." 489 interjected. "Wouldn't the fallout kill them even if they did survive the blast?" "Oh no. NIMH nukes are extremely clean. Not enough nuclear radiation to kill a human. Let alone one or two furries." 178 stated. "So, OK." 489 began. "You think that they could've hid somewhere close to the bombardment site?" "Had to." 512 said. "They were driving Warthogs and the satellite reports say that they cooked off much of the fuse time for the beacon. Idiots." 489 then said, "You'd better watch your mouth. Those idiots saved our lives." "Yes, sir." 512 said. "I'll remember that." "Very good. Now be a gentleman and scan the area for flares or electronic frequencies." "Sir, with respect, I've searched that area a hundred times since we were first dropped in. And I've gotta say, I've seen nothing. I think they might even be dead." 512 told his leader "Well, how do you know if you don't try?" 512 gave a small sigh away from his helmet mike. "OK, I'll give it another shot." "That's the spirit, pilot." 489 said.

"That's odd." 512 said. "Why? What?" 178 asked. "I've noticed a small output of high heat in a varying vertical scale." "What's that mean? 178 asked. "It means that there's a flare, moron!" 489 told 178. "Oh, right." "Where'd you find it?" "Right on top of a ruined parking garage, roughly 2 miles from here." 512 said checking his NAVcomputer.

"Well lets get moving. Those men and women are depending on us."

The Pelicans came in for a close sweep. The parking garage was in shambles. Half of it had been blown away by the immediate shockwave. The remaining structure had collapsed since the structure was so weak. It was impossible to see how anyone could survive under that for a week. 489 turned on his searchlight put in place where his 70mm chain gun would be. The light scanned the structure for any signs of life. "I think I see someone." 489 said to his subordinates. 178 asked, "How many, sir?" "I can't tell. Too much damned wreckage in the way. We need to send in the Marine search party on foot."

512 chuckled over the COM. "Better them than us. Rumor has it that there are still some Zerg stragglers in the area." 178 turned to look at 512's Pelican through his windshield. "Who in the hell did you hear that from, man?" "Quit the chatter, gentlemen." 489 ordered. "Yes, Lieutenant." The two lower ranking pilots said.

489's tires touched the ground. Their hydraulic supports hissed as compressed air made the boarding ramp fold down. Three armed Marine PFCs strode out of the Pelican into the ruined parking garage. The lead Marine took a flashlight out and shone it in a few directions. "Captain?" He called out. "This is _loco_, man. No one survived that explosion."

"We got our Intel from the Admiral. He said that the Protoss leader dude said that the Cap and his buddies were still alive." "Well that's what they said." The lead PFC stated. "But that was a week ago." They passed a few ruined cars. "Aw man. That's a Dodge Falcon. That's worth over five hundred thousand dollars, man." "You thinking of salvaging that thing, Ramirez?" "No, man. I was just saying, you know that… I heard something." "Yeah. I did too." The one with the flashlight said. He pulled an M39 Beretta out of his holster and aimed it at the source of the sound. The light shone to reveal two dead Marines. Their lower halves were crushed by the falling structure. They looked like they died a week ago due to the body decay. "_Dio_!" Ramirez said. "Come on. It was from this direction." The lead PFC said. They came up into a large area, which was intact amazingly. Two very badly damaged M20 LRV warthogs sat in parking spaces. Various panels were missing from their bodies and both windshields were busted. A makeshift hospital was located on the left where a few troopers were either dead or unconscious. A group of 7 marines were sitting in the center around a fire heating canned food. "Captain Vennettilli? Captain Chris Vennettilli?" A man turned around to face him. He had buzz cut brown hair. His face needed a good shave. He needed a lot of sleep too. He saw the three Privates and smiled. "Hell, its about time!" "You're Captain Vennettilli?" The lead PFC said reading the mission outline. "Yes I am. Who are you?" The PFC stuttered. "I-I am Private First Class Pete Parsons. These are Privates First Class Jose Ramirez and Scott Highlander." "Command sent you right?" Parsons nodded. "Yes sir. This is a rescue mission. Good to see you're alive." "Not all of us made it though." "Yeah, we saw those two back there." Highlander noted hooking his thumb over his shoulder. "Two of those four are dead." Chris said pointing at the crude gurneys, which were made out of car seats. "One from internal bleeding and one from concussion."

Garin came up to Chris sporting a new goatee. "Sir, Devins and Captain Kanow are gonna be OK. I patched Kanow up and he looks better." "Great job." "Thank you sir."

"Captain Vennettilli, where are the rest of your men? You only have 13 living here. You should have about 10 to 15 more still alive." "They're just resting. Trying to get out of here is just exhausting." "You've been trying to escape?" Ramirez repeated amused. "Yes, we were trapped and we wanted to get out, what would you have done?" Parsons turned to Chris. "Sir, I think it would be best if we got you back into space." "Yes, Private. Very good. Give us about 5 minutes and we'll be ready to go." "Alright sir."

The Marines stepped back the way they came.

"Well guys, we're going home." A roar of approval came from the Marines. "Hell yeah! I can't wait to drink a beer again!" Carl said. A few more soldiers backed him up. "Man, I can't wait to take a shower." Sally said brushing some dust from her fur. "Better get a haircut too, honey." Bunnie said pointing to Sally's longer, bushier hair. "It grows like a weed!" she whispered to Chris who chuckled. "Me myself, I'm gonna need to take myself to the mechanic. Need to get the joints oiled." After seeing a surprised look she added, "How does THAT sound dirty, y'all? How?"

"You know something, captain?" Ryan told his CO. "What?" "When we get outside for some air, we can see just what sort of beating we gave those Zerg." "I bet it was a huge explosion. Put us out for the better part of a day." "What's your plans after this?" Ryan asked. "Why would you ask that?" Chris said adjusting his bootstrap. "Well, you've had it rough the last few months, and you know, you need a breather. That's all." "Well, I'm gonna go on a vacation." "Nice, where?" "I was thinking something along the lines of Constance." "Hey, I hear that the West Coast of Hardria is pretty hot this time of year." "I'll keep that in mind." Chris said."

"…And after that, I'm gonna go see my baby girl." Carl finished telling the squad as Chris came back. "Aww, she looks so cute." Sally said looking at a holo. "She has your eyes you know." "And her mother's chin." Carl joked. "Hey Captain." Carl said. "We all ready to take off?" "I'm good." Carl said. "Me too." Lance said. "Ready as I'll ever be." Chaz reported. "I want off." Sally said. "I need some R & R." Bunnie told him. "Gotta pee when I get back." Ryan said. "Why the hell didn't you go before, boy?" Johnson barked at Percy. "There's rats in here!" "There's no rats here! All the rats died!" "How?" "We blew them up! Remember?" "Oh yeah…I still gotta pee though."

The survivors climbed to the outside. They all gasped at the gigantic hole near the center of the city, and the noted how the MOE still stood amongst the wreckage, its tall shaft extending up through the clouds to the stars. "That thing is still standing?" Ryan said, awed. "Its tough." Chris explained. "It lasted a millennium of hurricanes, meteor showers, and terrorist bombings. I won't be surprised if it lasts another millennium." "Time to go home." Chris said breathing in deeply stepping into the Pelican. Behind him, the others doubtlessly followed their leader. The Pelican engines whined to a start, kicking up dust as it started to rise. The landing gear folded back into the rear of the craft and the troop bay door sealed. It hissed to confirm the seal was airtight. The outside started to turn to black as the Pelican exited the atmosphere. Earth became a ball of blue. Sol reflected its light off of the Indian Ocean. The warm rays of the sun found its way into the troop bay and bathed the battle worn Marines with heat. Many exhaled with satisfaction.

The _Indomitable_ grew ever closer. One of its many launch bays swelled to an enormous size as the dropship floated inside. The D77TC twirled around so that it was facing the way it came. Giant bulkheads slid over the opening of the launch bay. The troop bay door opened and the metallic tang of the _Indomitable_'s launch bay flowed into the small space. "Alright." The pilot said. "Now in a nice orderly fashion, GET OFF MY PELICAN!" The Marines bustled and budged all eager to get off the dropship. Haalos and Daalos stood near the cockpit and waited for the mob of men, and women to subside. "Not partaking in that load of fun?" Chris questioned. "Fun is for children, Captain." Haalos said. "Alright. Thanks for the ride." He said to the pilot. "Any time Cap." He said. As soon as he exited the Pelican, Chris heard a voice on the intercom. "Captain Vennettilli, please report to the Admiral's quarters immediately, repeat, report to the Admiral's quarters immediately." "He can't do me no justice, can he?" Chris said marching down to the elevator.


	17. Chapter 15: Debriefing

Chapter 15: Debriefing 

October 12th 3235 1312 h

UNSC Supercarrier _Indomitable_

Chris took an elevator to the admiral's personal cabin located a few decks above the bridge. The lift creaked to a halt and the door opened. Chris looked down a short hallway that looked different from the olive drab corridors the common soldiers saw. The floor had red carpet and the walls were lined with wood taken directly from the Amazon jungle. Various pictures lined the walls that showed Andsworth in his earlier ranks. He was shaking the hand of his instructor at Paris's Navel Officer's Academy, Smoking cigars with then-president of the United States Roland Kolfer, and of course when Andsworth had made the big time, commanding the 1st Battle Fleet to victory over the skies of New Constantinople during the Robot Wars, just before the crushing victory at Maleficent V. Down the hall, a door stood. Chris tried to straighten his combat armor, wiped his feet, and smoothed his hair. He rapped on the door three times.

"Yes?" Came the reply. "Its Captain Vennettilli, reporting as ordered, sir." "One second." Andsworth's voice said. Seconds later, the door slid open. Andsworth appeared dressed in his navel uniform. He surveyed Chris head to toe for a few seconds regarding him. The admiral then said, "You look awful, you know that?" "Yes, sir." Chris said as was code in the military. Just then, Andsworth's face broke into a smile and he said, "Come in, come in, son." Chris breathed a sigh of relief. Chris had never been in the admiral's quarters before. He was led to an oak desk with a large bottle of whiskey on top of it and two shot glasses. Chris took an opportunity to look around. He saw many pictures of worlds the UNSC owned, newspaper clippings, and awards. He even spied an ancient ship in a bottle on Andsworth's desk. "It belonged to my grandfather, and his grandfather before him." Andsworth said following Chris's gaze. "'The Bluenose.'" He read on the plaque. "It's supposed to be an ancient sea ship. I was never good at making them as a kid so I inherited it when my grandfather died." He gestured to a padded chair. "Sit down, son. Rest your britches." Chris nodded appreciatively and sat. "I've read your CSV plenty of times, Captain." Andsworth said filling up his shot glass to halfway. "Each time it grows." Andsworth then filled up the Captain's. "But what happened here recently, is beyond records." Chris accepted the glass. "You saved the world." Chris lowered it before he sipped. "Sir, with respect, I didn't do it. If Corporal Percy hadn't sent you that transmission, we would have…" "Ryan deserves as much credit as every man and woman down there with you. Each one played a part in securing our safety. You, they, are all heroes." Chris then sipped the liquor. He sighed. "What is it, son?" The admiral said. Chris looked at the admiral. "I don't drink sir." The captain admitted. "Well," Andsworth said examining the bottle. "Now is as good a time as ever. This is an '87! Drink up!" Chris downed the shot. It tasted good. "Better than drinking recycled water for 7 days." Andsworth sniggered. "How did you cope with being down there?" "It was tough. We survived though. Johnson kept our spirits up telling us his famous ghost stories, or so he claims." Andsworth cleared his throat and shuffled a few papers on his desk. "I just wanted to tell you, the adjutant considered you for promotion." "You're kidding." "No I'm not." Andsworth said. "But, it's only been a few months!" "Yes I realize that, Chris. Its like the Rainforest Wars all over again, isn't it?" "Wait, you mentioned 'considered'." "You're right, I did. Nowadays, senior officers must be subject to a physical, psychological, and written examination before being awarded a promotion." "Psych tests for Major?" "Its just to make sure that you're mind's not strained from command duty. Captain's a hard role, Chris. Anyways, I wouldn't worry about it. The department usually doesn't pay much attention in that area so I figure that won't be a problem. Now, the second reason I called you here." Andsworth said filling up the glasses again. "You've done some damn fine soldiering on the ground, Vennettilli. I think you might need some vacation time." Chris cocked his head. "Seriously? That would be great." "What would you consider a fair time for your leave?" "Umm, I'd say 3 weeks." "That's good. How does 3 months sound?" It was a bombshell, a good one too. Chris smiled. "I think that would be OK?" "Sir, can I make 1 request?" "Go ahead." Andworth said. "Can my squad also get the same treatment?" Andsworth's smile faded for a second, and then reappeared. "I don't see why not. They've all been putting in some damn fine effort. Sure, they can have leave too." Chris's smile got even wider. "Sir, if it's OK with the admiral, can I go and tell my squad?" A nod. Chris drained his glass and set it on the table. "Thanks for the whiskey, sir!" Chris called. "Don't mention it, son!" Andsworth called back.

Chris ran out of the admiral's office going into the elevator. He punched the button to take him to deck 12, which was where his team's barracks were in. The elevator hummed near silently as it plummeted through the interior of the ship. It grounded to a halt as the door slid open. He walked down the hall past crewmen who congratulated him. He eventually came to his room. The Captain punched in the combination and the door slid open. About half the squad was inside the room, cracking open champagne bottles and relishing the comfort of the ship. Johnson saw Chris and smiled. "Hey, nice to see you again. How'd it go, sir?" "Not bad." Chris said. "I may be promoted." "That's great news, sir! Really!" "Yeah but I have to take a psych exam." "To get a promotion?" The sergeant asked. "Yeah, I was as confused as you are." The captain said nodding. "Back when I joined the Corps, We could get promoted without no fancy-schamzy exam." "Welcome to the 33rd Century, Sarge." "Yeah. Here comes your girlfriend." Johnson said. "She's not my…" But then, Sally walked up. "If Johnson says I am, I guess I am. I think I'll take it from here." she said "Yes, ma'am." Johnson said tipping his cap and walking away. "So, what did the boss want?" "Just a debriefing. And that we've all been granted an even amount of time off." "Talk to me." She said to him. "Three months." "Three months!" she repeated. "What's going on?" Ryan said coming up to the pair. "We all have 3 months off!" Sally said. "Wow! No kidding!" the Mobian turned to Chris. "How did you convince him to do that?" "He just told me that all of our efforts deserved a little recognition, so, we have 3 months to burn." The door slid open again. All the occupants looked around. Suddenly, a voice said, "Wow, you guys started the party without me?" In walked Sonic the Hedgehog.

Marines who applauded him warmly, delivered pats on backs, and wished him well greeted Sonic. "So, have you guys seen the news?" The hedgehog asked. "Nah, we were deployed." Carl said sipping an imported Bud Lite. "Doing what?" "Saving the world." Stacker said. He received a whole lot of positive feedback from that sentence. "Awesome, me too! Small world, huh?" He then noticed Sally. He smiled widely. Chris glanced at her and nudged his head towards the hedgehog. Thankfully, Sonic hadn't noticed. Sally ran up to the other Mobian and gave him a great big hug. She meant it too. Sonic then kissed her deeply. Some of the Marines looked at Chris. Who looked at them back. After what felt like hours, they broke apart. "Watch the chest. I got a real beating down there." He laughed. "I missed you." He told her. Sally looked at him. "I missed you too. We have a lot to catch up on, Sonic." "Yeah no doubt. You probably want to know what went on in Soleana, right?" "Yeah. I do." Sonic spent a few hours retelling his story on Earth and about how all his friends were involved. Chris had the strangest feeling that the hedgehog was leaving something out. Something important.

About an hour later, The Admiral called down Johnson, Sally, Carl, Lance, Chaz, Tails, and Ryan. They all returned with great news. Johnson was promoted to Command Sergeant Major, Sally was promoted to Sergeant Major, Carl was promoted to Staff Sergeant, Lance and Chaz were promoted to Master Corporal, Ryan was promoted to Staff Sergeant too. Tails probably got the biggest award of them all. He was promoted to the Navy rank of Chief Petty Officer Second Class and was awarded the Colonial Cross for outstanding service to Humanity, he kept turning the medal over in his hands looking at the engraving: FOR SERVICE TO HUMANITY: MILES AMEDIUS PROWER.

"You've earned it, little buddy." Sonic said, patting him on the back. The bad news came. Lance and Carl were being transferred to the UNSC _Corruption_: The _Indomitable_'s sister ship. They were taking a shuttle the same day that the unit got leave.

Finally, the day came.


	18. Chapter 16: Strange New World

Chapter 16: Strange New World 

October 16th 3235 0555 h

Docking Tube UNSC _Indomitable_/UNSC _Phoenix_

Captain Chris Vennettilli Soldier's Log

/Begin Entry/

This'll be my last entry for a little while. I'll take this datapad with me. I think I may need it. In case I hadn't mentioned earlier, We're headed for a planet known as Constance. It just happens to be where Carl's from. He can catch up on some family time while we take some well deserved rest. Shane is heading back to Arizona on a different ship. He's the only one not coming with us. Now, we start living.

/End Entry/

::: Press Enter to Confirm Shutdown :::

::: Shutdown Confirmed :::

::: Shutting Down :::

Chris shoved the datapad into his backpack. Inside the bag lay his Xbox 1080, a stack of games, books, stationary, pencils, and a picture of Earth. The hallway that led to the _Phoenix_ was a transparent tube that showed the globe beneath them. Ships swarmed from Slipspace carrying citizens back to their homeworld. The soldiers got a glimpse of the planet for the last time before the frigate took off. "Those stars always make me calm." Johnson said staring longingly out of the tube. "Sarge," Carl began. "The enemies we fought on the ground came from those stars." "It's an Earthling thing. You wouldn't understand." "Whatever, you're weird Sarge." Johnson lit up a cigar. "Shut up."

Chris carried three suitcases: one with his personals, one with clothes, and one with equipment including his Desert Eagle carrying case. The total weight was close to 100 pounds. Chris thought his arms were going to pop out of their sockets when Sally walked up. She was only carrying a single suitcase. "You look like you need help." "That would be nice." He handed his personal suitcase to her. She fumbled with it for a second then it shot to the ground taking her with it." "What the hell is in this thing?" "Just my personal things." He answered honestly "Does an anvil count as a personal need?" He laughed at that. His laugh carried down the tunnel towards the airlock to the ship. "So what are you gonna do when we get there?" the princess asked the human. "I figure I'm gonna take a few naps, enjoy some frosted drinks, and we'll see after that." "Come on, come swimming." She said to him. "I don't look good with my shirt off." "What are you talking about? I've seen you…" "Hey you two!" Ryan called from the airlock. "Quit flirting and get both of your asses in the tub. We're shoving off in five!" "Better get on." Chris said nudging his arm towards the door.

The man commanding the _Phoenix_ was Captain Perry. Perry served in the battle of New Constantinople when he was a lieutenant. The victory gained him a promotion and his own vessel which he commanded to the day. His COM lieutenant said, "Sir, we're receiving a message from the Admiral." Perry nodded. "Patch it through." The main screen turned on and showed Andsworth. "Alan." "Admiral, sir." "I only have one request, and that's for you to take care of those marines. They deserve our respect." "Yessir. I'll see to it that will be treated with the utmost respect. I heard about what happened on the planet." "Good. Very good. I also would like to point out that the Admiralty gave you orders to patrol the Dalnise Star system after your drop-off. We don't want to risk any Terrans to slip by us." "I understand, sir." "Excellent. Admiral Andsworth out."

Andsworth shut off the COM screen and went back to writing his report. Just as soon as he started to put his signature, a bright light appeared in the center of the room. Andsworth yelped as Executor Zarok appeared in his quarters. "Zarok! Don't do that! I'm an old man, for God's sake!" Zarok omitted what passed for a laugh. "I apologize, admiral." He then changed the subject. "I was recently in a meeting with the President of the United Federation of the Americas and the United Nations. Both have seemed quite gracious that we showed up when we did." Andsworth nodded. The United Federation consisted of North America and Central America. The President lived in New York City. "They actually requested that the Protoss join the United Nations of Worlds." Andsworth smiled. "That's great. What are you going to do now?" "Unfortunately I cannot make that decision. The leader of my species can, though. I will relay the invitation to him." "Well, I hope he accepts." "I do, also. And admiral?" Andsworth nodded. "It was a pleasure to work with you. Never had we fought beside humans like this before. Thank you for the experience." He held out his hand. Andsworth gripped it. He felt each muscle in the Protoss's fingers. "You're quite welcome." "I must depart now." Zarok said. He activated a button on his wrist and disappeared on the spot. Andsworth smiled and returned to his report.

There was a hitchhiker on the bottom of the _Phoenix_. The trespasser was none other than the elusive Dr Ivo Robotnik. His ship was blasted by the remaining MAC cannons as he tried to escape Earth. He didn't comply with their wishes, and the ship was holed. What the UNSC didn't know was that the bridge was detachable. While the ship smoldered in airless space, Eggman managed to get his hands on one of the Sol Emeralds housed in the jumpgate power chamber that wasn't easy considering the large amount of UNSC starships patrolling the perimeter. But he got it. Now with his bridge sticking unnoticeably to the bottom of the Earth vessel, he plotted his comeback. And this time, Sonic wouldn't interfere. Once the ship deposited its crew on the planet they were heading to, he would detach and jump to a safe location. Using the Emerald in his possession, he would create an unstoppable army of robotic warriors. Any minute now.

The rooms that would house the soldiers turned out to be smaller than the rooms on the _Indomitable_. They closely resembled rooms on naval submarines. Only there was a small window that overlooked the moonrise. Chris was the first one in the room. "Well, its only temporary." He muttered to himself. "Well, might as well get comfy." Sally said walking into the room. Tails walked in behind her. "What are you doing here?" Chris asked. "I'm sleeping here!" she said folding her arms and putting on a grin. "That isn't a problem is it?" "You're here too, Tails?" "I sure am! We're gonna have a great time together!! We're gonna swap ghost stories and read comic books, and…" "Please excuse me if I don't wet my pants in excitement." "Aww, he's just excited." Sally said tousling the young fox's hair. "Pick a bunk. We got plenty." Chris said beckoning to the beds on the wall. Once they got all settled in, the intercom crackled. "All crewmen and passengers, prepare for detachment." There was an audible _thud_ as the _Phoenix _drifted away from the supercarrier. The engines ignited and sent the frigate speeding away from her hull. The moon got ever closer. Soon it was close enough for the marines to see the cities. "Where's Sarge, Carl, Bunnie, Ryan and the others?" "They're just down the hall." Tails said. "Speaking of which, I'm going to go visit them now." The fox stepped outside and sealed the door. "Well, he's gone." Chris said, looking at Sally. "What are you suggesting?" She said with a small grin. "You're wearing lip gloss aren't you?" Chris said. "As a matter of fact, its strawberry flavored." "Is it now?" "Wanna taste it?"

Ryan entered the combination to Chris's room. It was dark. He fumbled in the black until he found the light switch. He flicked it upward to see a moving mass on the bed on the right side of the window. On closer inspection, he realized it was Chris and Sally kissing furiously, paying no attention to Ryan. "I think I'm gonna be sick." He muttered to himself, feeling a little guilty and embarrassed. "What the hell do you two think you're doing?" The two stopped suddenly and stared at Ryan. They both laughed a little. Sally pulled up the straps of her shirt. "Ryan, what a surprise." She said. "Yeah, no kidding." Chris added. "What was it?" "We've been noticing strange fluxes in the Shaw-Fujikawa Trans Light Drives. Not normal at all." "Like what?" The ship then rocked to one side throwing the occupants on the floor. "What the hell was that?" Sally demanded. Outside, the space around them started to glow white. "No, no, NO! Not again!" Chris yelled. He leaped to his feet and ran out of the room. "What's eating him?" Sally asked. "So, how was it?" Ryan asked. "Shut up before I smash your head through the window." She said brandishing her arms, which were, surprisingly, muscular. "I'll be quiet."

Chris sprinted through the corridors dodging crewman and nudging aside the ones who got in his way. The lift hummed down when he commanded it. He stepped inside and punched in the bridge level. The lift sped down. The console beeped and the captain stepped out onto the rubberized deck. Around him, bridge crewmen worked hard to try and figure out what was wrong with their ship. Chris found Captain Perry looking out of the forward viewscreen at the growing white gash. "Captain Perry, sir!" Chris said saluting sharply. "At ease, Captain. I assume you're here because of our predicament?"

"Yes sir, but we don't have much time." "Well then, out with it, son!" Chris cleared his throat so that everyone on the bridge would hear him. "I've seen this before. This is basically a Shaw-Fujikawa Slipspace tear only it's been enhanced with a Chaos Emerald." "A Chaos what?" "Forgive me, sir. It's a powerful jewel that exists in our universe and multiple others, theoretically." "Get to the point. What is it doing?" "It's opening a doorway to another universe." "TO WHAT?"

The gash opened wide and started to pull matter inside. The _Phoenix _was too far in to do anything about it. The crewmen inside tried to add more juice to the engines, but it did no good. The meters on the screen showed that the engines were over 300 . A huge explosion rocked the ship. "Engines just got blown to hell! We're drifting!" "This can't be happening!" Chris said holding his head in his hands. "Send out a red alert preparing all occupants to prepare for turbulence." Perry commanded his AI who was in the form of a woman with golden blond hair wearing a robe. "Yes, Captain." She said and disappeared. There was a deep droning of Red Alert going through the corridors. The AI's beautiful voice followed "All crew members prepare for Slipspace turbulence. We are entering a Slipspace analomy, repeat a Slipspace analomy." "I have to get to the others!" Chris shouted and ran from the bridge. The elevator came up and he descended to the floor where his cabin was. "Chris, what's going on?" Sally demanded when she saw him walk in. "It's a Slipspace tear that a Sol Emerald enhanced." "What?! We don't have a Sol emerald on board!" "If we don't who does?" The lights then went out. Miles ran in to the room aided by his tails. "Guys, guys! There's something wrong with our jump!" "We know!" Chris, Sally and Ryan shouted. There was another rock as the ship trembled throwing the soldiers on the ground again. Gravity gave out on the ship. Chris felt his body leaving the floor and emergency lights turned on bathing the room in a soft white glow. Chris could hear the other Marines shout in surprise. "Relax!" he commanded. The deep and sudden breathing ceased. "I was in a situation like this during the Rainforest Wars. Stay calm and don't panic. That leads to nausea. And nausea _isn't_ good, believe me." "So what do we do?" Tails said using his tails to propel him in the air. "We can't do anything. Nothing." White streaks passed by the viewport and soon the whole outside looked like a snowstorm. "Well, this is it. Who knows how long we'll be stuck in here." Tails said, after curling up into a ball, floating in the room, he muttered, "I'm scared." Sally kicked off from the ground and drifted to the frightened fox. She embraced him and slowly stroked his hair, as a mother would to a child. "Don't be scared, it's all going to be OK." Tails uncurled and relaxed to her touch. Ryan looked up. "I'm scared too, you know." "Chris drifted beside him. "I can give you a hug if it makes you feel better." He said to the sergeant. "I'll take my chances alone." Ryan said folding his arms

The door pinged after an hour. Chris kicked off and grappled the door controls to stop him for bouncing off. He touched the symbol to open the door. Johnson flew in followed by Bunnie and Carl. "You guys took your sweet time to get here. We must've been here for a whole hour since we took off." "Sorry, Chief. We were sleeping. We didn't notice." "You're kidding." "No. So, this is what you went through?" Johnson said taking a cigar out from the inside of his hat. "Yeah only it went by much faster, like only 30 seconds." Bunnie thought about it. "Wouldn't that mean that we've gone farther than our universe?" "Way farther." Tails concluded. "We could have even gone forward or backwards in time as well!" "We could have?" Chris asked. "Just a theory." Tails answered. "You see, due to the nature of trans light jumps, if traveling at a speed fast enough, we could stretch the boundaries of time and space. Breaking the wall between universes could be related to this theory." "So," Sally said sitting cross-legged in null gravity. "Can you figure out where we'll pop up next?" "No. Without discovering if such universes beyond our own exist, how can I figure out which one we'll appear in?" "Sorrrry! Just asking!" She said throwing her hair out of her face.

Suddenly, the outside of the ship got dark quickly. The white disappeared and inky black replaced it. Stars winked into view. The marines gasped when they appeared near a gas giant that was rusty orange in color as the gases swept around its circumference. Dozens of moons orbited the planet. The marines could see a golden sun far, far away with one planet easily visible nearly blocking the sunlight. "Where are we?" Chris asked. "I…I don't know." Tails said. His eyes got wide and he started to sweat. "What if nobody lives here? We have a limited supply of food, water and air!" "We'll find a way." Chris said. "What are you talking about? Our engines blew up just before we made the jump. We can't move!" Carl said. "Thanks for pointing out the obvious." Sally said moodily. "We just have to wait a little bit." Johnson reassured. "Perry'll find a way" "I hope you're right, Sarge." Bunnie said. Chris wanted to make sure that everything was OK before he set off to find the captain. "Is there enough air in our reserves?" Sally answered first. "I'll check. I need to give NICOLE a workout." She took the personal computer out from her leg strap and opened it. She keyed a few buttons then the computer spoke in a very beautiful voice:

'_Personal computer model 1-A516B, Common Name: NICOLE. Awaiting Any User 1 through 4 Vocal Activation Code.' _Sally enunciated clearly to the machine. "Sally Alicia Acorn. Age 19. UNSC Sergeant Major." The computer omitted a few beeps then said, '_Vocal Activation Code authenticated, welcome Sally.' _ "Hi, NICOLE. How about you activate your holographic form and take a breather." '_Command Confirmed: starting up holographic interface. Hang on a sec._' the computer then shone what appeared to be a light. Chris had never seen Mobian holographic interfaces before and it intrigued him. Piece by piece, what appeared to be an anthropomorphic lynx materialized in mid air. The AI had mathematical symbols running up and down her body. She was clothed in a dress. In Mobian standards, she was absolutely gorgeous. "Hi." NICOLE said making the universal sign of greeting, waving her hand. "Whoa." Chris said. He had never seen NICOLE like this before. "Hey, handsome. You look surprised to see me." Her ear twitched with incredible realism and she looked round at the other humans. She stared for a microsecond than said to Sally, "I've never seen them before." Sally answered, "They're with us. They're cool." NICOLE shrugged. "If you say so. So," she took a breath. "you awakened me?" Chris stepped up, "Can you check the…" "Hang on, Chris, you need to vocally authenticate yourself before you can give me a command. Protocol says. Chris muttered under his breath so the AI's aural sensors couldn't pick up his voice. "Stupid protocols." He then said, "Christopher James Vennettilli. Age 21. UNSC Captain. Happy?" "Hang on, User 2 of 4 confirmed. What were you just saying?" "We need you to check to see how much air is in the reserve tanks." NICOLE nodded, "Sure thing. Just give me a few seconds to slice into the life support server. Working… Done." She put two of her fingers to her temple and the symbols raced up and down her body faster. "OK, I'm in. There is a small leak." "How big?" Sally asked. "I wouldn't say 'big', Sal. It's barely a micrometer in _radius_. Based on the current rate of decrease in the supplies due to organic consumption, multiply that by the amount of oxygen is recycled daily divided by the amount of air that escapes the ship on average daily, We're looking at about three and a half more weeks of air in the tanks. So keep your pants on, people." Chris grimaced, "Well, when you consider the fact that we don't know if there's any creatures here, non-violent or otherwise, 3 weeks seems pretty short. We need someone or some place with air." NICOLE folded her arms. "You organics and your needs." "You watch your tone, missy. An organic created you." she scolded. "Yeah I know, I know." NICOLE said, her ears drooped when she said this. "Anything else you need?" Sally shook her head. "No, I think we're good." "OK, well, if that's all, I think I'll head into sleep mode. Oh and Chris?" "Hmm?" "I heard about the job on Earth. If I was opaque, I'd give you a kiss on the cheek." Her form dematerialized and went back inside the computer '_Shutting Down, Call me when you need me, Sal!_'

Sally put it away and said to Chris, "Was she hitting on you?" while cracking an eyebrow. Chris chuckled smugly "AIs? Wouldn't be the first time." Suddenly, the gravity and lights turned back on. All the Marines yelped as they fell hard on the ground. A few cries of "Ow my ass!" came over the soldiers. "I still don't think we have propulsion." Tails pointed out. Chris wasn't listening, because he saw something outside the window and it was coming up fast. "Chris?" Tails asked again. "We need to get to the bridge. Something's heading right for us!" The captain sprinted for the door. "Hold your horses cowboy, I'm coming too." Sally said. Bunnie piped up, "That's _my _line." And followed her. Tails also left. The remaining marines shrugged and followed them out.

Eggman was pissed. He was busy venting his anger that he shot his weapons specialist and the security guard next to the bridge door. "This WASN'T SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN!" he screamed. He then looked right at the blue, block-like emerald. "THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" he said as if it could comprehend and respond. "Now I don't have a clue about where the hell we are and how the hell we're getting back!" "If I may make a suggestion," A robot said, "Doctor, what if we remain with the Earthlings undetected and explore a little bit of this place." Eggman considered, he took his glasses off and wiped them. Placing them back on, he said, "Alright. I'll wait for now…what's that?" he said pointing at a small speck on the viewscreen. "Sensors are indicating that it is a cluster of starships moving at us at a high rate of speed."

Chris entered the bridge he saluted to Captain Perry. "At ease, son. Are you sure that all your men can fit on the bridge?" "Sir! Something's coming at us!" "Where?" the captain asked. "Behind you sir! Look!" Sally pointed. At once, dozens of ships appeared from space, speeding at first then instantly slowed. They were of no design they had ever seen. The heads of some of the ships looked like arrowheads with two cannons on each side. Engines protruded on each side at the back. Some looked like giant square bars with engines on them. Dozens of fighters swarmed around the ships that looked like deltas. And finally, the last ship emerged. It easily dwarfed the other craft. It looked like a flagship. "Oh my God!" Captain Perry exclaimed. "Lieutenant, what is that thing?" he said half expecting to hear a worthwhile answer. "I-I don't know sir!" Johnson pointed a shaking hand at the flagship. "That thing is HUGE." "Damn straight." Carl said. Sally put her hands on Chris's shoulders. "Do you think it will understand us?" "Well, we just have to wait and see." Bunnie concluded. The frightened lieutenant looked at his console. "SIR! They're hailing us!" Perry swallowed and straightened his navy hat. "P-put it onscreen." A man about Perry's age with a red and yellow cap appeared on the screen. He was clearly human much to everyone's surprise. He opened his mouth and spoke in English too. "Unknown vessel, this is the _Courageous_ of the Galactic Republic, Admiral Saul Karath speaking. You are ordered to power down immediately and surrender. If you do not comply you will be fired upon." The Marines jaws dropped. Chris said, "Uh oh."

Sally whispered into his ear, "What's going on?"


	19. Epilouge

Chapter 17: Epilogue 

October 13 3235 0700 h

UNSC HIGHCOM, Sydney, Australia

Andsworth burst through the door of the conference room followed by numerous navy personnel. "Well where the hell did they go? How can an entire ship disappear, tell me! You know what, get the hell outta my fucking sight." The naval personnel ran from the room. Two MPs closed the door and stood guard.

He turned around and saw the guests, Admiral Hugh Redby, General Kits and the royal Highnesses of Mobius. "Sorry about that." They all chuckled a little bit. "First of all I'd like to say how much I appreciate how much you could all be here today." "Thanks, Gerry." Kits said. "Now could you please explain to me what happened to my men?" King Max included, "And our daughter as well?" Andsworth took a breath. "At about 6 o' clock _Ante Meridian_, the UNSC _Phoenix_, a frigate under the command of Captain Alan Perry, vanished in Earth orbit. The frigate's intended course was to go to Constance to drop off a detachment of soldiers so they could enjoy some leave. However, the vessel did not reach Constance. As a matter of fact, we don't know where it went. Although a last transmission from the ship mentioned something about a Chaos Emerald." "What does it mean, Admiral?" Queen Alicia asked. Andsworth answered, "I suspect, Your Highness, that the _Phoenix_, and all aboard it, may be trapped in another Universe." Redby piped up. "Oh come ON! Not again." Andsworth stared. "This is looking like your case all over again almost a year ago." Kits took off his cap. "Gerry, the heroes of Earth are _gone_? They just vanished into another Universe? It's not good. Not good at all. They, no way in hell, deserved this." Max nodded. "I agree, general. Those soldiers did a great service. It's just. I feel for all those brave men and women aboard that ship, but I just want my precious Sally back." Without warning, the king started to cry. "Max, buck up!" Redby said. "How can I? She means everything to me! Now she's gone!" Alicia cooed to her husband. "Dearest, you must believe in Sally. She can take care of herself. And she had that young man with her. She will find a way back to us." Kits interjected. "How? They probably don't even know where they are!" Max said calmly. "I believe in Christopher as well. He's hasn't failed us yet. I know he will watch out for my daughter. I know they will watch out for each other." Kits smiled. "That's the spirit Your Highness." Redby cleared his throat. "What about Eggman? We shot his cruiser while he was trying to get away" Max smiled widely. "You're serious? You killed the doctor?" Redby frowned. "Before you get all excited, Max, when we examined the wreckage, we found out that the bridge was gone. And even more surprising was that the place where it was looked specifically like it detached from the hull." "So, he's still alive?" Alicia said gravely?" Redby nodded. "I believe so. And I think he might have stolen the Chaos Emerald mentioned in the log and I think Eggman may have latched onto the _Phoenix _and traveled with them." Max shook his head. "That's bad news. It doesn't make me feel any better that Eggman's gone from this Universe. He's a dangerous man that should be feared by the citizens of the other Universe. I trusted him so many years ago…" Andsworth spoke. "So, anybody have any suggestions on what to do?" It was quieter than a graveyard. "Alright. As of right now, nobody can know anything, nobody." He turned to the king and queen. "Max, Alicia, I'm so sorry this happened to you after such a period of happiness. We never anticipated something like this." Max looked at him, his blue eyes met Andsworth's "I know, Admiral. I know. I will never really rest until I can hold my daughter in my arms again." His eyes were sparkling again. "I just wanted to say I loved her one last time. And I would have wanted to tell Christopher that…I would welcome him into my family as if he was my own son." Andsworth stood at the head of the table once more. "Well, where ever they are, I think we can be sure that they're in a galaxy far, far away.

People say that those who are lost stay lost.

I disagree.

I know that somewhere, out there, every soldier

declared missing in action will find their way back home somehow

No matter where they are,

they will eventually find their way back to the ones they love…

-Unknown Author, _Journals of a G.I._

2525

/End Transmission/


End file.
